The Religions of China

Undergraduate catalogue

Throughout Chinese history, how have people navigated the spirit world, cultivated supernatural abilities, sought to stabilize (or destabilize) worldly power, and approached the mysteries of death? We'll use a wide array of media, from oracle bones to TikToks, to explore the extreme diversity of Chinese religious cultures, spanning ancient ancestral cults, Confucian, Buddhist, and Daoist traditions, Islam and Christianity, and new religious movements. We conclude by considering the future of religion in China. Two lectures, one preceptorial.