This article was accepted into the corpus but its outbound wikilinks were never NER-processed — typical at the deepest BFS hop or when the run's entity cap was reached. No expansion funnel to show.
| Asia-Pacific Association for Comparative Studies of Religion | |
|---|---|
| Name | Asia-Pacific Association for Comparative Studies of Religion |
| Formation | 1980s |
| Type | Scholarly association |
| Headquarters | Tokyo |
| Region served | Asia-Pacific |
| Leader title | President |
Asia-Pacific Association for Comparative Studies of Religion is a regional scholarly association dedicated to comparative study of religious traditions across the Asia-Pacific region, engaging scholars from institutions such as University of Tokyo, Peking University, National University of Singapore, Seoul National University, and University of Melbourne. The association organizes conferences, publishes research, and facilitates collaboration among departments and centers including Harvard Divinity School, Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jawaharlal Nehru University, and Australian National University. Its activities connect networks such as International Association for the History of Religions, American Academy of Religion, European Association for the Study of Religions, Association for Asian Studies, and International Society for the Study of Chinese Religions.
The association was founded in the late 20th century with founding members from University of Tokyo, Peking University, National Taiwan University, University of Hong Kong, Kyoto University, University of Malaya, and Ateneo de Manila University following regional meetings modeled on formats used by International Congress of Asian Scholars and World Congress of Philosophy. Early conferences featured keynote speakers affiliated with Columbia University, Yale University, Princeton University, Stanford University, and Cornell University and drew participation from scholars tied to SOAS University of London, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, École pratique des hautes études, and University of Chicago. Over successive decades the association expanded links to centers such as Tsinghua University, Fudan University, University of São Paulo, University of British Columbia, and University of California, Berkeley.
The association's mission aligns with comparative programs at Harvard University, Cambridge University, Oxford University, Columbia University, and Yale University by promoting cross-cultural analysis involving traditions like Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, and Shinto while engaging scholarly projects similar to those at Max Planck Institute for Religious and Ethnic Diversity, Smithsonian Institution, British Museum, and National Museum of Korea. Objectives include fostering intercultural dialogue with partners such as United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Asia-Europe Foundation, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, and Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific and supporting doctoral training linked to University of Melbourne, University of Auckland, University of Hong Kong, and National Chengchi University.
Membership comprises individual scholars and institutional affiliates drawn from University of Tokyo, Peking University, National University of Singapore, Seoul National University, University of Delhi, University of the Philippines, Chulalongkorn University, Universitas Indonesia, Bangkok Post — and academic units at Cornell University, Duke University, Princeton University, Brown University, University of Pennsylvania, Johns Hopkins University, Rutgers University, University of Toronto, McGill University, and University of British Columbia. Governance includes an executive board and advisory council with representation from research centers such as Centre for Asian Studies (University of Hong Kong), Asia Research Institute (NUS), Korea Institute for Advanced Study, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, and Council on Foreign Relations fellows on rotation.
The association convenes biennial congresses hosted by universities including University of Tokyo, Peking University, National University of Singapore, Seoul National University, University of Sydney, University of Auckland, University of Cape Town, and University of Cambridge. Proceedings have been published in collaboration with presses like Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, Routledge, Brill Publishers, Springer Nature, and Palgrave Macmillan, and journals such as Journal of Asian Studies, Numen, Religion, Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Harvard Theological Review, and Buddhist-Christian Studies. Special issues have featured contributors from Tsinghua University, Fudan University, Kyoto University, Nagoya University, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, University of Chicago Divinity School, Emory University, and Boston University.
Research themes mirror projects at Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity, International Institute for Asian Studies, Asia Research Institute (NUS), Center for Southeast Asian Studies (Kyoto), Institute of East Asian Studies (UC Berkeley), and Ashoka University: religious pluralism, ritual studies, textual philology, diaspora religions, and religion and modernity. Activities include funded workshops with grant partners such as Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, National Endowment for the Humanities, Australian Research Council, China Scholarship Council, Korea Foundation, European Research Council, and fellowships modeled after Fulbright Program and Rhodes Scholarship.
The association maintains partnerships with institutions and initiatives including United Nations University, Asia-Europe Foundation, Asia Pacific Forum on Religion and Peace, World Council of Churches, Vatican Dicastery for Culture and Education, Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, International Buddhist Confederation, International Association for the Study of Religion and Society, Asian Development Bank, and regional universities such as University of the Philippines Diliman, Universitas Gadjah Mada, University of Malaya, and Trinity College Dublin for exchange programs. Collaborative projects have intersected with archives and libraries like British Library, National Library of China, National Diet Library, Library of Congress, and museum initiatives at Metropolitan Museum of Art and Victoria and Albert Museum.
The association confers awards inspired by honors such as the Templeton Prize, Asahi Prize, Pulitzer Prize, Erasmus Prize, Kyoto Prize, and Neustadt International Prize for Literature to recognize lifetime achievement, emerging scholar excellence, best monograph, and public engagement. Recipients have included faculty from University of Tokyo, Peking University, National University of Singapore, Seoul National University, Harvard Divinity School, Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jawaharlal Nehru University, and Australian National University.
Category:Religious studies organizations Category:Academic organizations in Asia Category:Organizations established in the 20th century