Buddhist philanthropy and the development of welfare regimes in Chinese societies

Prof. André Laliberté (University of Ottawa)

The talk presents the key argument made in a two-part volume about to be published on the liminality of religious philanthropy and the Chinese state. The first book starts with the history of relief provision by Buddhist monastics and lay devotees and continues with the new forms of this tradition in contemporary Taiwan and among Chinese communities outside the People’s Republic. The second one looks at the unexpected attempts to revive Buddhist philanthropy in the context of the changes experienced by China during the administrations of Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao. The presentation will outline some of the motivations that have influenced that evolution and focus on the CCP ambition to shape the nature of religions in ways that can help the state address the rising challenges in social security. The talk concludes with a few words on the institutional and political obstacles that prevent the expansion of religious philanthropy.

Speaker Biography

André Laliberté (University of British Columbia 1999) is Professor at the University of Ottawa’s School of Political Studies. He has published book chapters and articles for peer-reviewed journals about domestic politics in Taiwan and China, as well as about cross-strait relations. The issues he has examined include nationalism, freedom of conscience, democratization, social policies, and labor rights for migrant caregivers. His focus is the intersection of religion and politics in China and Taiwan, starting with The Politics of Buddhist Organizations in Taiwan (Routledge, 2004). He has co-edited Buddhism after Mao with Ji Zhe and Gareth Fisher (Hawai’i University Press, 2019), and Concepts and Methods for the Study of Chinese Religions with Stefania Travagnin (de Gruyter 2019). His books Chinese Religions and Welfare Regimes beyond the PRC: Legacies of Empire and Multiple Secularities and Religion and China's Welfare Regimes: Buddhist Philanthropy and the State will be published by Palgrave in 2022.

Organiser: SOAS Centre of Buddhist Studies

Contact email: st8@soas.ac.uk

Sponsor: Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation