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The richness and vibrancy of Vietnamese spirituality are vividly portrayed in these twelve essays that shed light on the remarkable reflorescence of religion in this communist country. Ancestor worship, mediumship, sacrifices, and communal rituals have not only survived Vietnam's reintegration into the capitalist world; they are intrinsic to the dramatic reshaping of its contemporary social and cultural life. Transnational Buddhism and Christianity challenge the political status quo as they answer conflicting aspirations for enlightenment, justice, national development and cultural identity. Making conceptual contributions to anthropology and comparative religion, this book provides insights from post-revolutionary Vietnam into the diverse passages to re-enchantment in the modern world.
List of contents
Preliminary Pages; 1. Modernity and Re-enchantment in Post-revolutionary Vietnam by Philip Taylor 2. Returning Home: Ancestor Veneration and the Nationalism of Doi Moi Vietnam by Kate Jellema 3. Ritual Revitalization and Nativist Ideology in Hanoi by Choi Horim 4. Feasting with the Living and the Dead: Food and Eating in Ancestor Worship Rituals in Hoi An by Nir Avieli 5. Unjust-Death Deification and Burnt Offering: Towards an integrative View of Popular Religion in Contemporary Southern Vietnam by Thien Do 6. Spirited Modernities: Mediumship and Ritual Performativity in Late Socialist Vietnam by Kirsten Endres 7. Empowerment and Innovation among Saint Tran's Female Mediums by Pham Quynh Phuong 8. Buddhism for This World: The Buddhist Revival in Vietnam, 1920 to 1951, and Its Legacy by Elise Anne DeVido 9. The 2005 Pilgrimage and Return to Vietnam of Exiled Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh by John Chapman 10. Nationalism, Globalism and the Re-establishment of the Truc Lam Thien Buddhist Sect in Northern Vietnam by Alexander Soucy 11. Miracles and Myths: Vietnam Seen through Its Catholic History by Jacob Ramsay 12. Strangers on the Road: Foreign Religious Organizations and Development in Vietnam by Andrew Wells-Dang.
