Christoph Kleine – författare

This volume maps the international academic debate on secularity. It places seminal contributions from within ‘Western’ academia alongside less well-known texts from various parts of the world; in several cases this is the first time that they have been translated into English. The volume demonstrates that the academic debate on secularity was and is a global debate, with contributions from many regions. The collected texts relate to each other either directly or indirectly by referring to similar arguments – whether reinforcing or criticising them – and thus create a discourse. When speaking of global secularity, we therefore do not insinuate a uniform ‘world secularity’ resulting from the alleged global diffusion of ‘Western’ norms, ideas and concepts. It is rather a web of relations that is constituted via various different references. These references are not evenly distributed: the development in ‘the West’ is often the point of reference to which positions from other regions relate, to which they connect, or from which they distance themselves. But the references are not completely unidirectional: We also present texts from Europe that underline the multidirectionality of the process, even early on. Thereby, the volume offers the reader the material with which to trace these global exchanges and references.

This volume seeks to chart and elucidate the diverse relationships between the religious and secular spheres in regions of Asia that were significantly influenced – sometimes even dominated – by Buddhist discourses, ideas, and institutions. These regions include South Asia (India, Sri Lanka), East and Southeast Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam), Inner Asia (Buryatia, Mongolia, Tibet), and the Himalayan region (Bhutan). These regions were connected by communicative networks long before the global modern age. They constituted an intricately entangled discursive sphere, shaped by the cross-regional spread of concepts and ideas from Buddhism and, in East Asia, Confucianism. The volume sheds light on the prehistory and development of culturally specific forms of secularity, and related concepts, in Asia. It comprises a wide range of texts spanning approximately 2000 years; in many cases this is the first time that they have been presented in English. The texts here are not merely reproduced, but are also introduced and contextualized. Through these materials, the volume highlights the fact that distinctions akin to those between the ‘religious’ and the ‘secular’ were already prevalent in premodern Asia, laying the groundwork for the various forms of secularity which took shape in the modern period.

This volume aims to revitalize the exchange between sociological differentiation theory and the sociology of religion, which previously held center stage among the sociological classics. It brings together contributions from different disciplines, as well as various forms of regional and historical expertise, which are indispensable in forming a globally oriented sociological perspective today. Secularization is understood as a process of boundary demarcation, that is, as the enactment of semantic, practical, and institutional distinctions between religion and other spheres of activity and knowledge. These distinctions may emerge from within the religious field itself, or may be absorbed into the field having originally emerged elsewhere. They may even be directly imposed upon religion by external forces. The volume is therefore based on the premise that societal differentiation – and secularity as a specific expression of it – is a widespread structural feature that nonetheless takes on various forms, depending on its historical and cultural context. In order to make this diversity visible, the volume adopts a global comparative perspective, and examines historical distinctions and differentiations in the West and beyond. By examining different forms and modes of secularity in statu nascendi, the volume contributes to developing a better understanding of the diversity of secularities, even of those found in the present day, in terms of their historicity and their specific path dependencies. With this shift in perspective, this special volume initiates a global and historical turn in the theory of differentiation, as well as in the study of secularity.

This volume aims to revitalize the exchange between sociological differentiation theory and the sociology of religion, which previously held center stage among the sociological classics. It brings together contributions from different disciplines, as well as various forms of regional and historical expertise, which are indispensable in forming a globally oriented sociological perspective today.

Secularization is understood as a process of boundary demarcation, that is, as the enactment of semantic, practical, and institutional distinctions between religion and other spheres of activity and knowledge. These distinctions may emerge from within the religious field itself, or may be absorbed into the field having originally emerged elsewhere. They may even be directly imposed upon religion by external forces. The volume is therefore based on the premise that societal differentiation – and secularity as a specific expression of it – is a widespread structural feature that nonetheless takes on various forms, depending on its historical and cultural context. In order to make this diversity visible, the volume adopts a global comparative perspective, and examines historical distinctions and differentiations in the West and beyond. By examining different forms and modes of secularity in statu nascendi, the volume contributes to developing a better understanding of the diversity of secularities, even of those found in the present day, in terms of their historicity and their specific path dependencies.

With this shift in perspective, this special volume initiates a global and historical turn in the theory of differentiation, as well as in the study of secularity.

This volume aims to revitalize the exchange between sociological differentiation theory and the sociology of religion, which previously held center stage among the sociological classics. It brings together contributions from different disciplines, as well as various forms of regional and historical expertise, which are indispensable in forming a globally oriented sociological perspective today.

Secularization is understood as a process of boundary demarcation, that is, as the enactment of semantic, practical, and institutional distinctions between religion and other spheres of activity and knowledge. These distinctions may emerge from within the religious field itself, or may be absorbed into the field having originally emerged elsewhere. They may even be directly imposed upon religion by external forces. The volume is therefore based on the premise that societal differentiation – and secularity as a specific expression of it – is a widespread structural feature that nonetheless takes on various forms, depending on its historical and cultural context. In order to make this diversity visible, the volume adopts a global comparative perspective, and examines historical distinctions and differentiations in the West and beyond. By examining different forms and modes of secularity in statu nascendi, the volume contributes to developing a better understanding of the diversity of secularities, even of those found in the present day, in terms of their historicity and their specific path dependencies.

With this shift in perspective, this special volume initiates a global and historical turn in the theory of differentiation, as well as in the study of secularity.

In this volume the authors offer a modern introduction to the history and multilayered teachings and practices of Buddhism. It provides an overview of the historical development of Buddhism in both Asia and the Western hemisphere as well as treating a number of other subjects: the Buddhistic language and texts, its worldview, religious practices, social forms, views of government and politics, economics, art, architecture, modernisation and globalisation as well as its interactions with other religions. Numerous examples serve to illustrate the diversity of Buddhist tenets on matters of history and modern life. The volume shows that the widely held positive attitude in the West twoard Buddhism as teaching a peace-loving, detached and meditative enlightenment ignores many of the major and important areas of this world religion, for example, its large-scale nonmeditative religious practices, its internal conflicts, its economic and political interests, its history of persecuting those who dissent or its religious justification of war and aggression. Oliver Freiberger and Christoph Kleine provide many examples to illustrate the fascinating complexity of Buddhism and to arouse our interest in less popular, but no less important, facets of this religion. This is an easy-to-read introduction to the present state of research.

Ist die Unterscheidung zwischen Religiösem und Säkularem – d. h. Säkularität – wirklich eine Eigenheit der westlichen Moderne, wie oft behauptet wird? Oder gibt es auch in vormodernen Gesellschaften Asiens vergleichbare Unterscheidungen? Dieser Band geht anhand von zehn Beispielen dieser Frage nach. Dabei wird deutlich, dass auch in der asiatischen Religionsgeschichte analoge binäre Unterscheidungen in verschiedenen kulturspezifischen Varianten nachweisbar sind. Diese wirken bis heute nach und begründen eine globale Vielfalt von Säkularitäten, die nicht einfach als Varianten eines europäischen Modells betrachtet werden können.

This volume is a collection of interdisciplinary contributions concerning a number of case examples of religious deviance and the cultural dynamics inherently found in such deviance. It is complemented by systematic inquiries with empirical case studies. Even in early times there were many instances of places on the planet where any number of religions existed side by side. Yet the religion of others was often deemed "deviant" or even stigmatized as "nonconformist." The contributors to this volume come from many different fields such as religious studies, sociology, Sinology and Jewish studies. They report from their respective research vantage points and use case examples from the past and present to determine how, under what circumstances, for what reasons, and with what consequences religious plurality was considered a problem.

Auf den ersten Blick ist die asiatische Religionsgeschichte reich an Begegnungen von Religionen. Buddhismus, Hinduismus, Daoismus, Konfuzianismus, Shintō und andere Religionen koexistierten in bestimmten Regionen und Epochen, setzten sich miteinander auseinander und beeinflussten sich gegenseitig. Diese Darstellungsweise ist allerdings recht abstrakt und sagt wenig darüber aus, wer oder was sich bei einer "Religionsbegegnung" eigentlich begegnet. Was genau ist in einem spezifischen historischen Kontext mit Religionsbegegnung gemeint? Welche Prozesse sind zu beobachten? Und welche Konsequenzen hat eine genaue Analyse solcher Prozesse für die religionswissenschaftliche Theoretisierung von religiösen Identitäten und sozialer Dynamik? Die Beiträge in diesem Band diskutieren diese Fragen anhand von konkreten historischen Fällen aus verschiedenen geographischen Regionen: Südasien, Südostasien, Zentralasien und Ostasien. Sie zeigen, dass der Begriff "Religionsbegegnung" zwar nicht irrelevant ist, dass aber die jeweiligen Grenzen zwischen Religionen in jedem konkreten historischen Kontext unterschiedlich bestimmt werden können. Es muss daher für jeden Fall genau untersucht werden, was Begegnung für die religiösen Menschen und Traditionen bedeutet.

Der japanische Buddhismus zählt zu den einflussreichsten, vielfältigsten und lebendigsten Traditionen des Buddhismus. Auch im sogenannten "Westen" haben verschiedene Spielarten des japanischen Buddhismus längst Fuß gefasst. Das vorliegende Buch ist die bislang umfassendste und aktuellste Gesamtdarstellung dieser faszinierenden Religion in einer europäischen Sprache. Den gegenwärtigen Stand der internationalen Forschung abbildend, liefert Christoph Kleine zuverlässige, zum Teil in westlichen Sprachen und jenseits hochspezialisierter Gelehrtendiskurse schwer zugängliche Informationen über Geschichte, Lehre und Praxis der wichtigsten Lehrtraditionen, Mönchsorden, Bewegungen, Sekten und Denominationen des japanischen Buddhismus. Die Darstellung deckt die gesamte Zeitspanne zwischen der offiziellen Einführung des Buddhismus in Japan im 6. Jahrhundert und der Gegenwart ab. Als erster Autor überhaupt erörtert Kleine in einer Gesamtschau die Besonderheiten der japanischen Religionsgeschichte kritisch unter systematisch religionswissenschaftlichen Gesichtspunkten, indem er die historischen Fakten mit Fragestellungen und Theorien der allgemeinen Religionswissenschaft verknüpft. Das Buch stellt daher eine unverzichtbare Lektüre für alle Lehrenden und Studierenden, aber auch für interessierte Laien dar, die sich eingehender mit dem Buddhismus Japans und der japanischen Religionsgeschichte befassen möchten. Zahlreiche Literaturhinweise ermöglichen den Einstieg in die eigene Forschung oder ein vertieftes Studium.