Abstract
This paper addresses the religiosity, secularity and pluralism of the global East from a theoretical perspective. To do so it draws from work undertaken by the author within the International Panel on Social Progress (IPSP), paying particular attention to the material on religion, diversity and pluralism. The final section of the article demonstrates the rootedness of social scientific thinking in the European Enlightenment and the consequences of this heritage for the understanding of religion in other parts of the world including East Asia. There are no easy answers to the questions posed by the mismatch between theory and data; there are, however, pointers towards more constructive ways forward—ways which respond sensitively to the context under review, maintaining nonetheless a high degree of scientific rigour.
Highlights
I was delighted to be invited as a plenary speaker to the inaugural conference of the East AsianSociety for the Scientific Study of Religion (EASSSR), held in Singapore in July 2018
I found this a challenging assignment: whilst I was relatively familiar with social scientific theories regarding religion and secularity, as far as these apply to the European or Western cases, I was painfully aware that my knowledge of East Asia was limited
Given the overall theme of the EASSSR conference—“Religiosity, Secularity and Pluralism in the Global East”—it was fitting that the chapter on religion in the International Panel on Social Progress (IPSP) report paid particular attention to diversity and pluralism
Summary
I was delighted to be invited as a plenary speaker to the inaugural conference of the East Asian. Given the overall theme of the EASSSR conference—“Religiosity, Secularity and Pluralism in the Global East”—it was fitting that the chapter on religion in the IPSP report paid particular attention to diversity and pluralism. Taken together these sections offer a springboard for the theoretical discussion as such, which demonstrates the rootedness of social scientific thinking in the European Enlightenment and the consequences of this for the understanding of religion in other parts of the world including East. Religions 2018, 9, 337 pointers towards more constructive ways forward—ways which take careful account of the context under review, maintaining the highest standards of scientific rigour
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
