“Fly Buddha to Mars”: The co-production between religiosity and science & technology at Longquan Monastery, Beijing

This article attempts at a re-theorization towards the symbiosis and co-production of religion, modern science and technology, inspired by theoretical thinking within geographies of religion and science and technology studies (STS). Recent scholarship on the geographies of religion has made substant...

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Main Authors: Zhang, Han, Qian, Junxi, KONG, Lily
Format: text
Language:English
Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2024
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Online Access:https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/3915
https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/soss_research/article/5173/viewcontent/1_s2.0_S0016718524000095_pvoa_bronze.pdf
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spelling sg-smu-ink.soss_research-51732024-02-08T07:00:49Z “Fly Buddha to Mars”: The co-production between religiosity and science & technology at Longquan Monastery, Beijing Zhang, Han Qian, Junxi KONG, Lily This article attempts at a re-theorization towards the symbiosis and co-production of religion, modern science and technology, inspired by theoretical thinking within geographies of religion and science and technology studies (STS). Recent scholarship on the geographies of religion has made substantive advancements in discerning the convergence of religion and secular modernity. However, science and technology (S&T), as an essential condition and driving force of secular modernity, remain peripheral to this ongoing theoretical agenda, yet to be fully incorporated into the analytical framework about the co-constitution of religion and secular modernity, arguably because of the entrench divide between the rationalism of science and metaphysical thinking underlying religion. This paper addresses this issue by foregrounding the social and cultural constitution of science and in particular, its susceptibility to religious and spiritual sensibilities. Through an empirical case of Longquan Monastery, a Buddhist monastery in Beijing, China , this paper shows how the monastery brings S&T and Buddhism into close encounter in order to enrich both – in particular, we examine how Buddhism is appropriated to address the spiritual alienation caused by technological domination, how Buddhism acts as an alternative source of inspiration for technological creativity, and how Buddhist institutions reinvent themselves as rational and scientific to cater to a religious clientele socialized into modern scientific progress. Through the dialogue with STS, this research further contributes to addressing enduring concerns in the geographies of religion with religious spaces and practices as context-specific and spatially variable. 2024-01-01T08:00:00Z text application/pdf https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/3915 info:doi/10.1016/j.geoforum.2024.103948 https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/soss_research/article/5173/viewcontent/1_s2.0_S0016718524000095_pvoa_bronze.pdf http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Research Collection School of Social Sciences eng Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University Chinese Buddhism Co-production Geographies of religion Postsecularity Science and Technology Studies (STS) Asian Studies Religion Science and Technology Studies Urban Studies and Planning
institution Singapore Management University
building SMU Libraries
continent Asia
country Singapore
Singapore
content_provider SMU Libraries
collection InK@SMU
language English
topic Chinese Buddhism
Co-production
Geographies of religion
Postsecularity
Science and Technology Studies (STS)
Asian Studies
Religion
Science and Technology Studies
Urban Studies and Planning
spellingShingle Chinese Buddhism
Co-production
Geographies of religion
Postsecularity
Science and Technology Studies (STS)
Asian Studies
Religion
Science and Technology Studies
Urban Studies and Planning
Zhang, Han
Qian, Junxi
KONG, Lily
“Fly Buddha to Mars”: The co-production between religiosity and science & technology at Longquan Monastery, Beijing
description This article attempts at a re-theorization towards the symbiosis and co-production of religion, modern science and technology, inspired by theoretical thinking within geographies of religion and science and technology studies (STS). Recent scholarship on the geographies of religion has made substantive advancements in discerning the convergence of religion and secular modernity. However, science and technology (S&T), as an essential condition and driving force of secular modernity, remain peripheral to this ongoing theoretical agenda, yet to be fully incorporated into the analytical framework about the co-constitution of religion and secular modernity, arguably because of the entrench divide between the rationalism of science and metaphysical thinking underlying religion. This paper addresses this issue by foregrounding the social and cultural constitution of science and in particular, its susceptibility to religious and spiritual sensibilities. Through an empirical case of Longquan Monastery, a Buddhist monastery in Beijing, China , this paper shows how the monastery brings S&T and Buddhism into close encounter in order to enrich both – in particular, we examine how Buddhism is appropriated to address the spiritual alienation caused by technological domination, how Buddhism acts as an alternative source of inspiration for technological creativity, and how Buddhist institutions reinvent themselves as rational and scientific to cater to a religious clientele socialized into modern scientific progress. Through the dialogue with STS, this research further contributes to addressing enduring concerns in the geographies of religion with religious spaces and practices as context-specific and spatially variable.
format text
author Zhang, Han
Qian, Junxi
KONG, Lily
author_facet Zhang, Han
Qian, Junxi
KONG, Lily
author_sort Zhang, Han
title “Fly Buddha to Mars”: The co-production between religiosity and science & technology at Longquan Monastery, Beijing
title_short “Fly Buddha to Mars”: The co-production between religiosity and science & technology at Longquan Monastery, Beijing
title_full “Fly Buddha to Mars”: The co-production between religiosity and science & technology at Longquan Monastery, Beijing
title_fullStr “Fly Buddha to Mars”: The co-production between religiosity and science & technology at Longquan Monastery, Beijing
title_full_unstemmed “Fly Buddha to Mars”: The co-production between religiosity and science & technology at Longquan Monastery, Beijing
title_sort “fly buddha to mars”: the co-production between religiosity and science & technology at longquan monastery, beijing
publisher Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University
publishDate 2024
url https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/3915
https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/soss_research/article/5173/viewcontent/1_s2.0_S0016718524000095_pvoa_bronze.pdf
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