Affiliation:
1. The University of Hong Kong
Abstract
Buddhism in Mainland China has demonstrated evident inclinations in
recent decades towards This-worldly engagements and has accommodated
adherents’ demands for blessing and spirituality. In this process, media
and digital technology have played an abiding and enabling role, not only
as a new venue of preaching, but also a new frontier of social experiences
that religions strive to shape and influence. This chapter investigates the
entanglement of digital media and religion through a case study of the
recent rise and popularisation of This-worldly Buddhism. In particular, it
documents: (1) Chinese Buddhist organisations’ and clergies’ use of social
media as a public engagement approach, and (2) the seemingly paradoxical
involvement of Buddhism in secular activities such as technological
innovation and creativity to reconcile the relationships between religion
and technology.
Publisher
Amsterdam University Press
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