Newsletter No. 124

CUHK Newsletter No. 124 4th April 1998 3 Department Update Calling for a Dispassionate Study of Religion 'It is important for people to understand that we are cm academic department of religion. We are trying our best to do an objective and balanced study of religion as a human phenomenon. We are scholars interested in religion as an aspect of culture and society, not missionaries here to promote any r e l i g i o n , ' said Prof. Daniel Lee Overmyer, acting-chair of the Department of Religion, one of the oldest departments for the academic study of religion in the Chinese-speaking world. The name of the department, Prof. Overmyer added, may be misleading; calling it the Department of Religious Studies would be more apt. New Focus: Religions in the Chinese-speaking World The Depa r tment of Re l i g i on is i n transition f r om one whose focus was primarily on Christian studies to one that involves the study also of Chinese religions such as Buddhism and Taoism. Faculty appointments have already been made in the two areas. Prof. Overmyer himself, now in his second year at the department as a visiting professor from the University of B r i t i sh Columbia, specializes in the common or popular religious traditions of Chinese society. He believes that the 1997 handover has given an undertone of encouragement to studies of Chinese cultural tradition i n the department: 'Hong Kong is a major centre of world communication, trade and cultural interchange, being strategically located between mainland China and the rest of the world. We in the Department of Religion should make use of this to study religious traditions of the territory and the mainland, and be an authentic expression of what it means to study religion in the Chinese-speaking world.' The department is currently looking for a new appointment in Chinese literature and Chinese religion. Effort is being made to strengthen the areas of Islam and popular religious traditions. The department w i l l continue its teaching and research of Christianity, but the emphasis w i ll fall on Christianity as a Chinese religion—its history in China and the particular forms that biblical studies and theology can take in a Chinese- speaking context. Prof. Archie Lee, former chair of the department who is currently on sabbatical at Cambridge University, specializes in biblical interpretation f r om Asian perspectives. Prof. Lee is also the founder of the Programme for Theology and Cultures in Asia (PTCA) which meets and holds conferences in different parts of Asia. The group recently helped organize a conference in India on indigenous theology which discussed the use of materials from Asian cultures to interpret and communicate Christian teaching. An Anthropological Rather Than Metaphysical Approach An academic department of religion may conjure up images of students mus i ng on abstractions w i t h i n the immaculate walls of the classroom, but Prof. Overmyer believes strongly that the academic study of religion should not stay in the realm of philosophical exchange between intellectuals. Religion should be understood as a social and cultural practice. In other words, he advocates a more anthropological approach to the subject. That's why he encourages his students and staff to do more f i e ld research—going to the local Christian congregations, Buddhist and popular temples, mosques, Taoist festivals, even sites of religious significance in China, to observe, interview, and take pictures. 'Religion is much more an activity than a belief,' he said. 'Theologians and philosophers love to focus on theories and abstract principles, but the majority of the ordinary believers neither know nor care much for such high-level theory. For people in Christian churches, popular temples, or Buddhist temples, what really count are the rituals, and the sense of support and encouragement they get from the practice of their faith. This is best learnt by going out and observing. Field work forces scholars to focus on what ordinary people are doing.' The goal of Prof. Overmyer, as of most good scholars of religion, is to study religion in a detailed and objective way. Another benefit of doing field work is that it establishes an objective context for studying a subject. Prof. Overmyer pointed out that f i e ld wo rk enables scholars to adopt the role of believers in the religion they are studying and see things from their perspective. By doing so, they gain not only 'external understanding' but 'existentialist understanding of what the r e l i g i on means to its believers', and then from this internal position, the scholars can withdraw to discuss, analyse, and evaluate what they have seen. While he concedes that pure objectivity is never perfectly possible in studying religion since it has to do with people's innermost anxieties and beliefs, scholars should try to limit the influence of their own beliefs and ideology in the process as much as possible. Greater Interaction with the Mainland Prof. Overmyer believes it is an 'extremely important responsibility' of the department to serve as a catalyst for the academic study of religion in ma i n l and China, and in do i ng so, 'contribute to the modernization of China'. The department has signed an agreement w i t h the department of religious studies at Peking University for staff and student exchange and the organization of conferences every other year. 'We hope that our example and our cooperation w i ll encourage the same spirit of study in academic institutions in mainland China where, until very recently, different kinds of religious activities were prohibited by law. Many still are, and the study of the religions of ordinary people can still be d i f f i c u l t ,' explained Prof. Overmyer. The department w i ll co-host a conference this May with the Centre for the Study of Religion and Chinese Society, established over a year ago to provide organizational support f or mon t h ly lectures and to sponsor conferences. Entitled 'Ethnography Today: A Critical Assessment of Methods and Results', the conference w i ll be based on reports by local and overseas scholars on local religions in China, especially central, south, southeast, and southwest China. The department is also in the process of establishing a taught M A degree, tailored for non-majors of religious studies. These would include students from the mainland who have not had the opportunity to study religious studies as undergraduates and, hence, would not qualify for admission to a research degree programme. ' T h e objective and dispassionate study of religion is a sign of intellectual freedom and cultural maturity,' said Prof. Overmyer. May his vision of true intellectual freedom in religious studies, as in all other areas of study, come true. Piera Chen CU Press New Books The following books are available to staff of the University at a 20 per cent discount at the University Bookstore, John Fulton Centre: Guangdong: Survey of a Province Undergoing Rapid Change Edited by Y.M. Yeung and David K.Y. Chu, this book-length study of Guangdong addresses the processes, outcomes, and implications of the province's rapid physical and socioeconomic transformation since 1978 across a wide spectrum of subjects. Undertaken almost exclusively by academics in Hong Kong, it contributes to a better understanding of China's modernization and development through its multifaceted experimentation in Guangdong. ISBN 962-201-769-X, 520 pages, hardcover, HK$310 China in the Post-Deng Era Deng Xiaoping's death marked the end of an era in contemporary Chinese politics. The first-generation revolutionary leaders have gone, and the third-generation leaders are in power. At the same time, economic reforms which began in 1978 have now reached a plateau, and a new impetus is called for to maintain the momentum of economic growth. Edited by Joseph Y.S. Cheng, the book brings together a team of experts from Australia, mainland China, Hong Kong, and the US to review developments in China and discuss what needs to be done in the future. Topics addressed include achievements since 1978, evaluation of policies and reforms, the Chinese leaders' plans for future reforms, and the impact of post-Deng leadership succession. ISBN 962-201-792-4, 716 pages, paperback, HK$250