scholarly journals The State and ‘Religious Diversity’ in Chinese Dissertations

Religions ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 402
Author(s):  
Yu Tao ◽  
Ed Griffith
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Diversity ◽  
Representative Sample ◽  
Religious Diversity ◽  
Academic Institutions ◽  
Predominant Role ◽  
Qualitative Evidence ◽  
Chinese State ◽  
Scholarly Discourse ◽  
Contemporary Chinese ◽  
Scholarly Attention

Religious diversity in China has attracted considerable scholarly attention in both Anglophone and Sino-phone academia. Based on the quantitative and qualitative evidence in a representative sample of doctoral and master’s dissertations successfully defended in reputable Chinese academic institutions, this article identifies two characteristics associated with the usage of ‘religious diversity’ in contemporary Chinese scholarship. Firstly, ‘religious diversity’ is prominently applied to depict inter-religious rather than intra-religious relations. Secondly, ‘religious diversity’ is often discussed along with ethnic diversity. These patterns confirm, and further illustrate, a notable theme in the China-focused English scholarly works on religious diversity, namely, that the Chinese state plays a predominant role in the making and shaping of the country’s religious diversity. Moreover, the meaning, implication, and usage of the very concept of ‘religious diversity’ in contemporary Chinese scholarly discourse are also likely to have been directly influenced by the policies and rhetoric of the Chinese state.

Standardization, Bureaucratization, and Convergence: The Transformation of Governance of Religion in Urbanizing China

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Xiaoxuan Wang
Keyword(s):  
Religious Life ◽  
Urban Transformation ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
Turn Of The Millennium ◽  
Public Attention ◽  
Contemporary China ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
State Initiatives ◽  
Chinese State ◽  
Scholarly Attention

This article explores critical shifts in the governance of religion amid massive urbanization and technological advances in contemporary China. Since the turn of the millennium, along with rapid urban transformation, the Chinese state has greatly expanded its reach into and surveillance of religious communities. At the same time, tensions between state initiatives and religious communities have come to the forefront of public attention. So far, scholarly attention has mostly focused on the repression of religious communities, especially Christians. The goal of this article is to highlight broader transitions in the ways religion is governed in China and to reflect on how these transitions should be understood alongside the government's social and political agendas. The advancement of technologies and the extension of the bureaucratic system to maintain control of a rapidly urbanizing society, I argue, have brought about a “technological turn” of secularism in China, which will have a far-reaching impact on religious life.

‘Playing the Chinese card’: Globalization and the aesthetic strategies of Chinese contemporary artists

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 567-584 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lin Zhang ◽  
Taj Frazier
Keyword(s):  
Contemporary Art ◽  
Chinese Identity ◽  
Chinese Contemporary Art ◽  
Western Art ◽  
Chinese State ◽  
The Aesthetic ◽  
And Control ◽  
Art Industry ◽  
Contemporary Chinese ◽  
Contemporary Artists

This article examines the art and travels of two contemporary Chinese artists – Ai Weiwei and Cai Guo-Qiang – to explore how each of them successfully navigates the rapidly shifting terrains and interests of the Chinese state and the global high art industry while simultaneously articulating a distinct politics and practice of creative ambivalence. We argue that these two artists’ creative productions and strategies: (1) refute various western critics’ critique of Chinese artists as inauthentic imitators of western art who produce exotic representations of China and Chinese identity for western consumption; (2) call into question the Chinese government’s numerous efforts to simultaneously promote and control Chinese contemporary art for nationalist/statist purposes. Furthermore, we unpack how both artists deploy various resources to produce complex works that interrogate and demonstrate the clashes of power, culture and identity in global spaces of encounter.

Peace Studies and (Counter)Terrorism

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentina Bartolucci
Keyword(s):  
Preliminary Review ◽  
Peace Studies ◽  
Academic Institutions ◽  
Counter Terrorism ◽  
Security Issues ◽  
Cross Pollination ◽  
Initial Stage ◽  
The World ◽  
Opening Up ◽  
Scholarly Attention

Scholarly attention on both Peace Studies (PS) and contemporary security issues, in particular “terrorism” and “counterterrorism,” is notable and has been growing in recent decades. Several academic institutions now offer undergraduate and postgraduate modules on “Terrorism Studies” (TS) and PS all over the world, and in recent years there has been growing interest in both areas. Still, the two fields have long remained stubbornly distant and only a few scholars have investigated the interaction between Peace and Terrorism Studies. This article, building on the openings produced by seminal contributions on the possible intersection between the two areas of research, seeks to review such contributions and point to some commonalities and issues affecting both fields to finally underline fruitful areas of cross-pollination. To achieve its aim, the article is structured in the following way: it begins with an investigation of characteristics common to both fields as well as common issues affecting them, then reports the results of a preliminary review of the most relevant contributions investigating the possibilities of crossroads between Terrorism Studies and Peace Studies. The contributions succinctly reviewed in this article are full of important considerations (theoretically and empirically informed) about the feasibility and desirability of intersections between TS and PS and are particularly welcomed for opening up new avenues for research. However, given the initial stage of this enterprise, they should be better regarded as excellent launch pads for stimulating further research and for encouraging more dialogue between disciplines.

Voices from the Golan

2000 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 5-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sakr Abu Fakhr
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Diversity ◽  
Representative Sample ◽  
Religious Plurality ◽  
Israeli Occupation

Given the paucity of information about the population of the Golan Heights before the Israeli occupation in 1967, the Institute for Palestine Studies decided to conduct a series of interviews among the some 350,000 Golani refugees living in Syria. The ten testimonies reproduced below, which follow a brief profile of the Golan, were chosen as a representative sample of the experiences recounted and as a reflection of the ethnic diversity, religious plurality, and lifestyle of the region.

scholarly journals Academic Expertise and Anti-Extremism Litigation in Russia: Focusing on Minority Religions

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marat Shterin ◽  
Dmitry Dubrovsky
Keyword(s):  
Religious Diversity ◽  
Religious Discrimination ◽  
Academic Institutions ◽  
Minority Religions ◽  
Judicial Decisions ◽  
Politics And Religion ◽  
Growing Body ◽  
Judicialization Of Politics ◽  
Selection Of

This article contributes to the growing body of research on the increasing role of judicial systems in regulating politics and religion (‘judicialization of politics and religion’) across the globe. By examining how academic expertise is deployed in anti-extremist litigation involving Russia’s minority religions, this article reveals important processes involved in this judicial regulation, in particular when legal and academic institutions lack autonomy and consistency of operation. It focuses on the selection of experts and the validation of their opinion within Russia’s academia and the judiciary, and identifies patterns in the experts’ approach to evidence and how they validate their conclusions in the eyes of the judiciary. Academic expertise provides an aura of legitimacy to judicial decisions in which anti-extremist legislation is used as a means to control unpopular minority religions and to regulate Russia’s religious diversity. As one of the few systematic explorations of this subject and the first focused on Russia, this article reveals important processes that produce religious discrimination and the role that anti-extremist legislation plays in these processes.

Can Kami Promote Ethnic and Religious Tolerance?

2019 ◽  
pp. 91-132
Author(s):  
Naomi A. Moland
Keyword(s):  
Multicultural Education ◽  
Ethnic Diversity ◽  
Religious Diversity ◽  
Religious Tolerance ◽  
Religious Intolerance ◽  
Religious Others

Chapter 4, “Can Kami Promote Ethnic and Religious Tolerance?,” also supports the book’s first argument that multicultural education can inadvertently reproduce stereotypes. As Sesame Square’s creators celebrated ethnic diversity on the program—by showcasing ethnic clothing, languages, names, foods, and customs—they lapsed into stereotypes to represent different groups. Representing religious diversity raised further conundrums. Muslim symbols were seen as “anti-Christian,” and vice versa. Some creators feared that representing religious diversity was too contentious given the fact that religious intolerance was seen as the cause of escalating violence. For this same reason, however, other creators believed that highlighting religious integration and tolerance was more important than ever. Some creators believed that if children learned about ethnic and religious others, they would become more appreciative of diversity. Others, however, feared that highlighting differences could exacerbate divisions.

scholarly journals The Diversity Challenge for High and Low Authoritarians: Multilevel and Longitudinal Effects Through Intergroup Contact and Threat

2018 ◽  
Vol 44 (8) ◽  
pp. 1163-1179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jasper Van Assche ◽  
Frank Asbrock ◽  
Kristof Dhont ◽  
Arne Roets
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Diversity ◽  
Indirect Effects ◽  
Intergroup Relations ◽  
Representative Sample ◽  
Intergroup Contact ◽  
Longitudinal Analyses ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Longitudinal Effects ◽  
Stratified Sample

The current studies integrate different frameworks on the positive and negative consequences of ethnic diversity for intergroup relations. Using a nationally stratified sample of Dutch majority members ( N = 680) from 50 cities in the Netherlands, Study 1 demonstrated that objective diversity was indirectly related to prejudice and to generalized, ingroup, and outgroup trust, through more positive and more negative contact. These indirect effects tended to be stronger for high versus low authoritarians. Furthermore, perceived diversity was indirectly related to less trust and greater prejudice, via more negative contact and threat. Again, these associations were more pronounced among high authoritarians. Study 2, using a representative sample of German majority members ( N = 412) nested within 237 districts, replicated the cross-sectional results regarding objective diversity and prejudice. In addition, longitudinal analyses indicated that objective diversity predicted more positive and more negative contact 2 years later, though only among moderate and high authoritarians.

scholarly journals Return on Trust is Lower for Immigrants

2018 ◽  
Vol 129 (621) ◽  
pp. 1992-2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Cettolin ◽  
Sigrid Suetens
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Diversity ◽  
Representative Sample ◽  
Interaction Partner ◽  
Dutch Population

Abstract We conducted an experiment with a representative sample of the Dutch population to study whether trustworthiness depends on the ethnicity of the interaction partner. Native Dutch trustees play with an anonymous trustor, who is either another native Dutch or a non-Western immigrant. We find that trustees reciprocate trust up to 12% less if the trustor is a non-Western immigrant than if he/she is native Dutch. This percentage increases up to 23% for trustees who report disliking ethnic diversity in an independent survey. Since the decision to reciprocate does not involve behavioural risk, our results provide evidence of taste-based discrimination.

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