Expertise
John Templeton Foundation
(JTF) Project
Expertise
John Templeton Foundation (JTF) Project
Global East Religiosity and Changing Religious Landscapes
Principal Investigator
Fenggang Yang, Director of Center Religion and the Global East, Purdue University, USA
Funding
$2,050,493 from John Templeton Foundation & Purdue University
Project Summary
This three-year project (July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2025) has three subprojects:
(1) to conduct a religion survey in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, using our own developed and pre-tested survey questionnaire,
which includes questions specially designed to capture the distinctive religiosity in East Asian cultures,
(2) to map religious sites(temple, churches, and mosques) and develop the Online Spiritual Atlas of the Global East(OSAGE), which is a platform for visualization and spatial studies of religious organizations in East Asia, and
(3) to conduct comparative historical studies of Christianity in East Asian societies since 1900.
The goals are
(a) improving the survey instruments of measuring religiosity in religiously diverse societies in East Asia and elsewhere,
(b) developing databases for spatial and historical studies of religious or organizations and institutions East Asia and
(c) cultivating the field of the social scientific study of religion in the Global East through workshops and webinars
The key concept of the Global East
The Global East is a social-cultural concept of societies, communities, and individuals that share the
spatial-temporal complex of East Asia. it includes East Asian societies, diasporic communities of East Asian origin, and individuals who are or have become part of East Asian cultures. The Global East is distinct from both the West and the Global South. The concept of the Global South that lumps together all non-Western societies is a Euro-centric or North-Atlantic-centric concept that obscures the proper understanding of the varied dynamics of social and religious change in the world today.
The Global East is home to all of the major world religions, including the Abrahamic religions and religions originating in South Asia, and the East-Asia-originated Confucianism, Daoism, and folk religions.
Principal Investigator
Fenggang Yang, Director of Center Religion and the Global East, Purdue University, USA
Funding
$2,050,493 from John Templeton Foundation & Purdue University
Project Summary
This three-year project (July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2025) has three subprojects:
(1) to conduct a religion survey in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, using our own developed and pre-tested survey questionnaire, which includes questions specially designed to capture the distinctive religiosity in East Asian cultures,
(2) to map religious sites(temple, churches, and mosques) and develop the Online Spiritual Atlas of the Global East(OSAGE), which is a platform for visualization and spatial studies of religious organizations in East Asia, and
(3) to conduct comparative historical studies of Christianity in East Asian societies since 1900.
The goals are
(a) improving the survey instruments of measuring religiosity in religiously diverse societies in East Asia and elsewhere,
(b) developing databases for spatial and historical studies of religious or organizations and institutions East Asia and
(c) cultivating the field of the social scientific study of religion in the Global East through workshops and webinars.
The key concept of the Global East
The Global East is a social-cultural concept of societies, communities, and individuals that share the spatial-temporal complex of East Asia. it includes East Asian societies, diasporic communities of East Asian origin, and individuals who are or have become part of East Asian cultures. The Global East is distinct from both the West and the Global South. The concept of the Global South that lumps together all non-Western societies is a Euro-centric or North-Atlantic-centric concept that obscures the proper understanding of the varied dynamics of social and religious change in the world today.
The Global East is home to all of the major world religions, including the Abrahamic religions and religions originating in South Asia, and the East-Asia-originated Confucianism, Daoism, and folk religions.
