Mediatized Religion in Asia

This edited volume discusses mediatized religion in Asia, examining the intensity and variety of constructions and processes related to digital media and religion in Asia today. Individual chapters present case studies from various regions and religious traditions in Asia, critically discussing the data collected in light of current mediatization theories. By directing the study to the geographical, cultural and religious contexts specific to Asia, it also provides new material for the theoretical discussion of the pros and cons of the concept mediatization, among other things interrogating whether this concept is useful in non-'Western' contexts."

Kerstin Radde-Antweiler is Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Bremen, Germany. Her research focuses on mediatized religion, mediatization theory, video gaming, Pagan and Christian traditions, and ritual studies. She edited special issues on the interrelation of culture and digital media and published several articles. She is co-editor-in-chief of gamevironments, the first academic journal with a specific focus on video gaming and religion. Xenia Zeiler is tenure track Professor of South Asian Studies at the University of Helsinki, Finland. Her research is situated at the intersection of digital media, religion, and culture in India and the worldwide Indian community. Other foci are Digital Humanities and Tantric traditions. She is author of numerous articles and book chapters on digital and mediatized Hinduism, and co-editor-in-chief of gamevironments, the first academic journal with a specific focus on video gaming and religion.

Introduction Mediatized Religion in Asia. Interrelations of Media, Culture and Society beyond the "West"; Part 1 East Asia; "Does Anyone Know a Good Healer?" An Analysis of Mediatized Word-of-Mouth Advertising of Spiritual Healers in Japanese Online Question and Answer Forums; Religious Mediatization with Chinese Characteristics: Subaltern Voices of Chinese Muslim Youths; "Aren't you happy?" Healing as Mediatized Nationalism in a Compressed Modernity; Part 2 Southeast Asia; Facebook and the Mediatization of Religion: Inter/Intra-Religious Dialogue in Malaysia; On-offline Dakwah: Social Media and Islamic Preaching in Malaysia and Indonesia ; Church Digital Applications and the Communicative Meso-Micro Interplay: Building Religious Authority and Community through Everyday Organizing; Part 3 South Asia; Ravidassia: neither Sikh nor Hindu? Mediatized Religion in Anti-Caste Contexts ; Digitalizing Tibet: A Critical Buddhist Reconditioning of Hjarvard's Mediatization Theory; Part 4 West Asia; Being Religious through Social Networks: Representation of Religious Identity of Shia Iranians on Instagram; Understanding Jewish Digital Media in Israel: Between Technological Affordances and Religious-Cultural Uses; Critical Reflection Religion as Communicative Figurations - Analyzing Religion in Times of Deep Mediatization ;