The Experts below are selected from a list of 321 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform

Kate Crosby - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

Wendy Cadge - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • heartwood the first generation of Theravada Buddhism in america
    2004
    Co-Authors: Wendy Cadge
    Abstract:

    Theravada is one of the three main branches of Buddhism. In Asia it is practiced widely in Thailand, Laos, Burma, Sri Lanka, and Cambodia. This fascinating ethnography opens a window onto two communities of Theravada Buddhists in contemporary America: one outside Philadelphia that is composed largely of Thai immigrants and one outside Boston that consists mainly of white converts. Wendy Cadge first provides a historical overview of Theravada Buddhism and considers its specific origins here in the United States. She then brings her findings to bear on issues of personal identity, immigration, cultural assimilation, and the nature of religion in everyday life. Her work is the first systematic comparison of the ways in which immigrant and convert Buddhists understand, practice, and adapt the Buddhist tradition in America. The men and women whom Cadge meets and observes speak directly to us in this work, both in their personal testimonials and as they meditate, pray, and practice Buddhism. Creative and insightful, "Heartwood" will be of enormous value to sociologists of religion and anyone wishing to understand the rise of Buddhism in the Western world.

  • Gendered Religious Organizations: The Case of Theravada Buddhism in America
    Gender & Society, 2004
    Co-Authors: Wendy Cadge
    Abstract:

    This article examines how organizational context shapes the way gender is socially constructed in two non-Judeo-Christian religious organizations in the United States, one Theravada Buddhist organization founded by immigrants and one started by converts. People at the two organizations disagree with each other about what Theravada Buddhism teaches about women in teaching and leadership positions but agree that outside of these positions, women and men are equally able to gain access to and practice the tradition. Despite these understandings, women and men have distinct gender roles and responsibilities at each organization that are in tension with what the leaders and attendees understand the tradition to teach. The extent to which teachers and attendees recognize these tensions and the ways they respond to them are explored, and their implications for each organization and for studies of gender and religious organizations are discussed.

Jonathan Jong - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • beyond Buddhism and animism a psychometric test of the structure of burmese Theravada Buddhism
    PLOS ONE, 2019
    Co-Authors: Mark Stanford, Jonathan Jong
    Abstract:

    Anthropologists and religious scholars have long debated the relationship between doctrinal Theravada Buddhism, so-called 'animism', and other folk practices in southeast Asian societies. A variety of models of this relationship have been proposed on the basis of ethnographic evidence. We provide the first psychometric and quantitative evaluation of these competing models, using a new scale developed for this purpose, the Burmese Buddhist Religiosity Scale. Having tested existing hypotheses in our first study (n = 2285) we formulated an alternative model, which was then tested in our second study (n = 3377). We argue that this model provides support for a two-dimensional distinction between great and little traditions, shedding light on decades-old theoretical debates. Far from being in conflict, the transnational religious tradition of the literati and the variegated religious practices of locals appear to be reflected in two complementary dimensions of religiosity. This distinction has been heretofore neglected in psychometric research, but arguably merits attention beyond Buddhism, in the psychology of religion more generally. Our findings suggest that, insofar as research on religiosity relies on doctrinal pronouncements denigrating little traditions as mere superstition, it may be blinded to a crucial dimension of religious life.

Chalermsee Olson - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • Essential Sources on Thai Theravada Buddhism
    Behavioral & Social Sciences Librarian, 1997
    Co-Authors: Chalermsee Olson
    Abstract:

    Abstract This article suggests essential sources related to Thai Theravada Buddhism, the national religion of Thailand. Sources concerning Buddhist teachings, the historical background of the religion, and modern scholarly approaches to the study of the broader concept of Thai religion are included. These essential monographs and articles provide not only valuable basic knowledge and understanding of one of the three “pillars„ of the Thai nation, but also about historical and current events in Thailand, as well as the character of the Thai people.

R. De Silva-wijeyeratne - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • The Mandala State in Pre-British Sri Lanka: The Cosmographical Terrain of Contested Sovereignty in the Theravada Buddhism Tradition
    2014
    Co-Authors: R. De Silva-wijeyeratne
    Abstract:

    What I do here is to explore the aesthetic reproduction of Buddhist sovereignty in pre-British Sri Lanka. My argument points to an inherent tension between the virtual sovereignty that characterizes the claims that Buddhist kingship makes, and the actuality of a decentralized bureaucratic State that was a feature of the Buddhist polities that emerged in the shadow of the Asokan phase of the Mauryan Empire in the 3rd century BCE. Our understanding of sovereignty in Theravada Buddhism owes much to the period of Emperor Asoka’s rule as well as Canonical texts such as the Agganna Sutta (The Discourse on What is Primary) and the Cakkavatti Sihanada Sutta (The Lions Roar of the Wheel-Turning Emperor), and the 4th century BCE text on Hindu statecraft the Arthashastra.