Dynamics of Religion in Southeast Asia - Magic and Modernity

Modernity is surrounded by an almost magic aura that casts a spell over people all over the world. To connect with modernity, various ways and means are used, among them magic practices and religious ideas. Dynamics of Religion in Southeast Asia: Magic and Modernity deals with the magic in and of modernity and asks about its current significance for the dynamics of religion in Southeast Asia. Drawing on recent ethnographic research in this area, the contributors to this wide-ranging volume demonstrate how religious concepts contribute to meeting the challenges of modernity. Against this background, religion and modernity are no longer perceived as in contradiction; rather, it is argued that a revision of the western notion of religion is required to understand the complexity of 'multiple modernities' in a globalised world..Dynamics of Religion in Southeast Asia: Magic and Modernity is part of the series Global Asia, in close collaboration with the International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS).

List of contents

Preface, Introduction, Modern Spirits, Modern Muslims, Modern Traditions, Notes on Contributors, Bibliography

About the author

Volker Gottowik is postdoctoral researcher in the area studies network 'Dynamics of Religion in Southeast Asia' (DORISEA) at the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Heidelberg.

Product details

• Authors: Gottowik Volker
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Release: 01.12.2025
• EAN: 9781041178385
• ISBN: 978-1-041-17838-5
• No. of pages: 338
• Series: Global Asia
• Subjects: Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Geosciences > Geography; Social sciences, law, business > Sociology > Sociological theories; RELIGION / General, RELIGION / Spirituality, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Anthropology / Cultural & Social, Social & cultural anthropology, ethnography, Religion: general, South East Asia, Modernity, Regional Studies, Social and cultural anthropology, Regional / International studies