Buddhism - beliefs, politics and culture

Although Buddhism emerged in the 5th–4th centuries BCE partly as a reaction against the ritualism, caste structures, and institutionalised authority of Brahmanism, its later history also produced enduring monastic orders, canonical traditions, and cultural establishments. In modern contexts, this dual character (both anti-ritualist and highly institutionalised) continues to shape Buddhist identity.

In the West, Buddhism has often been perceived through orientalist and New Age lenses: as a philosophy of peace, meditation, and self-cultivation rather than as an organised religion with rituals, hierarchies, and political entanglements. The global spread of mindfulness, Zen, and Tibetan practices has frequently been accompanied by selective appropriation, reframing Buddhism as “spiritual but not religious,” an alternative to dogma, organised religion and institutional authority. This largely Western generalisation of Buddhism has expanded its cultural footprint while also provoking debate over commodification and the erasure of traditional practices.

Despite its reputation as a religion of peace, Buddhism has also been implicated in conflict and nationalism, particularly in South and Southeast Asia. In Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, Buddhist identity has been mobilised in ethno-nationalist movements that sometimes turn violent, including the justification of attacks against religious minorities. These developments highlight the complex intersection of Buddhism, politics, and terrorism, challenging romanticised global narratives of Buddhist nonviolence.

Buddhism continues to be an important field of exploration: as a tradition of philosophy and ethics, as a lived religious and cultural practice, and as a political force in both local and global contexts.

This Collection welcomes contributions from across the humanities, social sciences, and related disciplines that explore Buddhism in its multiple dimensions.

1. Sociology of Buddhism

• Religious practice and everyday life: monasticism, meditation, merit-making, lay devotion, and pilgrimage.
• Identity and belonging: majority vs minority experiences, diaspora identities, and global migration.
• Buddhism, modernity, and secularisation: decline in East Asia, renewal movements, Buddhism as a reaction to ritualism, and its appeal as an “anti-institutional” tradition.
• Western perception and New Age Buddhism: mindfulness, wellness industries, and redefinition of Buddhism as “philosophy, not religion.”
• Generational change: shifting values, monastic vocations, and youth adaptation.
• Religious switching: conversions into and out of Buddhism, syncretism, and hybrid identities.
• Gender and family: ordination debates, feminist reinterpretations, and family-based ritual practice.
• Health and well-being: Buddhist psychology, trauma studies, and resilience.
• Interreligious dialogue: Buddhist engagement with Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and secular philosophies.

2. Political science and Buddhism

• Buddhism and the state: religion as state ideology in Thailand, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and beyond.
• Religion and nationalism: Buddhist mobilisation in politics, ethno-religious movements, and the use of Buddhist identity in defining nationhood.
• Buddhism and terrorism: extremist movements, hate speech, and attacks linked to Buddhist nationalism, alongside counter-movements for peacebuilding.
• Global politics: Buddhist soft power, diaspora influence, and Buddhist diplomacy.
• Political thought: Buddhist theories of governance, ethics, and nonviolence.
• Conflict and peacebuilding: Buddhist monastic and lay responses to war, humanitarian crises, and reconciliation.
• Democracy and pluralism: rights, citizenship, and secularism in Buddhist-majority contexts.
• Environment and sustainability: Buddhist ecological ethics and climate activism.

3. Cultural studies and Buddhism

• Representation and media: global portrayals of Buddhism in film, literature, digital platforms, and pop culture.
• Meditation and mindfulness: cultural translation, commodification, and New Age reinterpretations.
• Art, literature, and aesthetics: Buddhist visual culture, poetry, architecture, and digital creativity.
• Gender and sexuality: women’s ordination, queer Buddhist identities, and intersectional analyses.
• Memory, trauma, and resilience: colonialism, violence, diaspora identity, and post-conflict recovery.
• Diaspora, hybridity, and cultural exchange: Buddhist practices in multicultural societies.
• Postcolonial and critical theory: Buddhism, orientalism, race, and decolonial approaches.
• Religion, identity, and globalisation: Buddhism’s redefinition across global sanghas, digital communities, and wellness cultures.
• Interreligious cultural exchange: Buddhist borrowings from and contributions to Hindu, Daoist, Christian, Islamic, and secular cultures.