University of Hawai'i Press, 2023

9780824894931

Pandemics

Religion and culture

Inglese

Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Note on Online Content -- Introduction—Asian Religions in the Covidian Age -- Section I—Corona Etiologies: How Zoonoses Fit into Theologies, Cosmologies, and Myths -- 1. Reshaping Traditional Culture in Bangladesh:The Folklore of Corona Times -- 2. Monster for Covid Struggle: The Life of a Japanese Yōkaifrom Prophecy to Expression -- 3. “Three Cs” and the Three Mysteries: How Esoteric Buddhism Contributed to the Containment of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Japan -- 4. New Diseases, Old Deities: Revisiting Sitala Maa during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Bengal -- 5. Turmeric and Neem: Sacred Plants, Disease Goddesses, and Epidemics in Popular Hinduism -- 6. Saint Corona, Coronasur, and Corona Devi: Embodied Relationships between Religion and Disease -- 7. Why Was Thousand-Hand Guanyin Late for the Meeting?:Implications of Religious Humor during COVID-19 -- 8. Cosmologies, Cartoons, Commentaries: COVID-19,Humor, and the Seventh Lunar Month Festival in 2020 Singapore -- Section II—Ritual Innovation and New Media: Pandemic Negotiations of Efficacy and Virtuality -- 9. Puppets Wearing Masks: Fighting with Batara Corona in Javanese Wayang Kulit -- 10. Catholic Televisuality in the Time of Pandemic:A Philippine Perspective -- 11. “Burden Us Not with That Which We Have No Ability to Bear”:Cultivating Endurance through Digital Connection in Ramadan -- 12. Cyber Dharma: Celebrating E-Vesak in Singapore -- 13. Ritual Adaptations on Telok Ayer: Liturgical Negotiations in a Chinese Temple and a

Methodist Church -- 14. Parsis and Ritual Innovation: Zoroastrian Funerary Practices in Mumbai during the Pandemic -- Section III—Viral Sensorium: Embodiment at a Time of Social Distancing -- 15. “We Knew It!”: Caribbean Hindu Responses to Restrictions of Touch during COVID-19 -- 16. A Bread and Wine Issue: “Losing” the Eucharist during the Pandemic -- 17. Touchless Technology, Untouchability,and the COVID-19 Pandemic -- 18. The Sonic and the Somatic: Matua Healing Practices during COVID-19 -- 19. De-sensorializing and Disembodying Chinese Religions in Singapore amid the COVID-19 Pandemic -- 20. Gods Have Eyes: Praying Online in Singapore -- Section IV—Spatial Sacred Reconfigurations: The “Place” of Religion in the Covidian Age -- 21. The Disruption of Charisma in Southeast Asian Megachurches -- 22. #Minimosque: Cov-Eid as Image, Event, and Archive

This book, 'Asian Religions in the Covidian Age', edited by Emily Zoe Hertzman, Natalie Lang, Erica M. Larson, and Carola E. Lorea, explores the intersection of religion and the COVID-19 pandemic across various Asian cultures. It delves into how religious practices, beliefs, and communities have adapted to the challenges posed by the pandemic. The volume is structured into sections that discuss topics such as the integration of zoonotic diseases into religious cosmologies, ritual innovations in the digital age, and the impact of social distancing on religious embodiment. Additionally, it examines spatial and political dynamics within religious practices during the pandemic. The book is aimed at scholars, students, and general readers interested in religious studies, Asian cultures, and the social impacts of the pandemic. It provides a comprehensive analysis of the transformations within Asian religious landscapes, using a combination of scholarly essays and multimedia content.