Skip to main content

Youth and Religion in East and Southeast Asia

Handbook of Children and Youth Studies
  • 179 Accesses

Abstract

This chapter attempts to map out the different trends concerning youth and religion in East and Southeast Asia today. By drawing from case studies from various parts of the region, five trends have been identified: conversion, intensification, identity construction, social engagement, and political participation. Invoking the coexistence thesis, these trends demonstrate that there is no one narrative or linear direction concerning the fortunes of religion among young people in the region. In the latter section, the chapter draws from these case studies to identify the social conditions that account for the flourishing of religion among these youth. These are all tied to social change brought about by economic growth and its challenges in the region. As an intervention in the literature, the chapter hopes to stimulate interest in conducting large-scale and comparative studies on youth and religion in East and Southeast Asia.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Anagnost, A., Arai, A., & Ren, H. (Eds.). (2013). Global futures in east Asia: Youth, nation, and the new economy in uncertain times. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • ARDA. (2013). The association of religion data archives: Eastern asia. Retrieved July 31, 2013, from http://www.thearda.com/internationalData/regions/profiles/Region_6_1.asp

  • Bailey, S., & Autry, J. Z. (2013). Religious freedom research and the future of Asian studies: An introduction to the summer 2013 issue. The Review of Faith & International Affairs, 11(2), 1–5. doi:10.1080/15570274.2013.808039.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bautista, J. (Ed.). (2012). The spirit of things: Materiality and religious diversity in southeast Asia. Ithaca: Cornell University, Southeast Asia Program Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bautista, J., & Lim, F. K. G. (Eds.). (2012). Christianity and the state in Asia: Complicity and conflict. London/New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bayat, A., & Herrera, L. (2010). Introduction: Being young and Muslim in neoliberal times. In L. Herrera & A. Bayat (Eds.), Being young and Muslim: New cultural politics in the global south and north (pp. 3–24). Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Cao, N. (2013). Elite Christianity and spiritual nationalism. Chinese Sociological Review, 45(2), 27–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • CHC. (2013). Progress report 2011/2012. Singapore: City Harvest Church.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chew, P. G.-L. (2008). Religious switching and knowledge among adolescents in Singapore. In A. E. Lai (Ed.), Religious diversity in Singapore (pp. 381–410). Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies and Institute of Policy Studies.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chew, P.G.-L. (2009). An ethnographic survey of language use, attitudes and beliefs of singaporean daoist youths. Asia Research Institute Working Paper Series(118).

    Google Scholar 

  • Cho, S. (2011). The evangelization of secular young adults in south korea: Effective principles for conversion growth among protestant churches. (3459229 Ph.D.), Asbury Theological Seminary, Ann Arbor.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chong, T., & Hui, Y.-F. (2013). Different under god: A survey of church-going protestants in Singapore. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.

    Google Scholar 

  • Collins-Mayo, S., Mayo, B., Nash, S., & Cocksworth, C. (2010). The faith of generation y. London: Church House Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cornelio, J.S. (2010). Being catholic as reflexive spirituality: The case of religiously involved Filipino students. Asia Research Institute Working Paper Series(146).

    Google Scholar 

  • Cornelio, J. S. (2013). The nationalization of religion: Cultural performances and the youth of soka Singapore. MMG Working Paper Series, 13(17).

    Google Scholar 

  • Cornelio, J. S. (2014). Young people and golden rule Catholicism in the Philippines. The case of religiously involved Filipino students. In G. Vincett & E. Obinna (Ed.), Christianity in the modern world: changes and controversies. (pp. 11–35) Farnham: Ashgate.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cornelio, J. S., & Salera, T. (2012). Youth in interfaith dialogue: Interreligious understanding and its implications on education in the Philippines. Revista Innovación Educativa, 12(60), 41–62.

    Google Scholar 

  • Day, A. (2011). Believing in belonging: Belief and social identity in the modern world. Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Dillon, M. (2007). Age, generation, and cohort in american religion and spirituality. In J. A. Beckford & N. J. Demerath (Eds.), The Sage handbook of the sociology of religion (pp. 526–548). London: Sage.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Episcopal Commission on Youth. (2003). The national Filipino catholic youth survey 2002. Manila: Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fisker-Nielsen, A. M. (2012). Religion and politics in contemporary Japan: Sokka gakkai youth and komeito. London/New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Flory, R., & Miller, D. E. (2010). The expressive communalism of post-boomer religion in the U.S. In S. Collins-Mayo & P. Dandelion (Eds.), Religion and youth (pp. 9–15). Aldershot: Ashgate.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gale, F., & Fahey, S. (Eds.). (2005). Youth in transition: The challenges of generational change in Asia. Bangkok: Regional Unit for Social and Human Sciences in Asia and the Pacific (UNESCO).

    Google Scholar 

  • Hasan, N. (2010). The drama of jihad: The emergence of salafi youth in Indonesia. In L. Herrera & A. Bayat (Eds.), Being young and muslim: New cultural politics in the global south and north (pp. 49–62). Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Heelas, P., & Woodhead, L. (2005). The spiritual revolution: Why religion is giving way to spirituality. Oxford: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hefner, R. W. (2012). Islamic radicalism in a democratizing Indonesia. In S. Akbarzadeh (Ed.), Routledge handbook of political islam (pp. 105–118). London/New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hervieu-Leger, D. (2000). Religion as a chain of memory. Cambridge: Polity Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ji, Z. (2006). Non-institutional religious re-composition among the chinese youth. Social Compass, 53(4), 535–549. doi:10.1177/0037768606070418.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kinnaman, D. (2011). You lost me: Why young christians are leaving church…And rethinking faith. Grand Rapids: Baker Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krauss, S. E., Hamzah, A. H., Suandi, T., Noah, S. M., Juhari, R., Manap, J. H., & Mahmood, A. (2006). Exploring regional differences in religiosity among muslim youth in malaysia. Review of Religious Research, 47(3), 238–252. doi:10.2307/3512356.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuah-Pearce, K. E. (2008). Delivering welfare services in singapore: A strategic partnership between buddhism and the state. In A. E. Lai (Ed.), Religious diversity in Singapore (pp. 505–523). Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies and Institute of Policy Studies.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuah-Pearce, K. E. (2009). State, society, and religious engineering: Towards a reformist Buddhism in Singapore (2nd ed.). Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee, T. (2010). Born again: Evangelicalism in korea. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lu, Y. (2013). Understanding the rise of religion in china. Chinese Sociological Review, 45(2), 3–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mason, M., Singleton, A. T., & Webber, R. (2007). Spirit of generation y: Young people’s spirituality in a changing Australia. Mulgrave/Victoria: John Garratt Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Naafs, S. (2010). Music vcds and the new generation: Negotiating youth, femininity, and Islam in Indonesia. In L. Herrera & A. Bayat (Eds.), Being young and muslim: New cultural politics in the global south and north (pp. 341–354). Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Pew Research Center. (2012). The global religious landscape: A report on the size and distribution of the world’s major religious groups as of 2010. Washington, DC: The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.

    Google Scholar 

  • Phua, C., Hui, A., & Yap, C. W. (2008). Interactions among youth leaders of different faiths: Realities from the ground and lessons learnt. In A. E. Lai (Ed.), Religious diversity in Singapore (pp. 642–667). Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies and Institute of Policy Studies.

    Google Scholar 

  • Poh, J. (2007). Workfare: The fourth pillar of social security in Singapore. Retrieved June 18, 2013, from http://www.cscollege.gov.sg/Knowledge/ethos/Issue.

    Google Scholar 

  • PRB. (2013). The world’s youth: 2013 data sheet. Washington, DC: Population Reference Bureau.

    Google Scholar 

  • Singh, B. (2011). Religion as a political ideology in southeast Asia. In I. Ahmed (Ed.), The politics of religion in south and southeast Asia (pp. 120–135). Oxon/New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, C., & Denton, M. L. (2005). Soul searching: The religious and spiritual lives of American teenagers. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Stark, R., & Finke, R. (2000). Acts of faith: Explaining the human side of religion. Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Todd, J. (Ed.). (2007). World christian database. Leiden/Boston: Brill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tong, C. K. (2007). Rationalizing religion: Religious conversion, revivalism and competition in Singapore society. Leiden: Brill.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Tong, C. K. (2008). Religious trends and issues in Singapore. In A. E. Lai (Ed.), Religious diversity in Singapore (pp. 28–54). Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies and Institute of Policy Studies.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tong, J. K. C. (2011). Religious experience of a young megachurch congregation in Singapore. In M. Bailey & G. Redden (Eds.), Mediating faiths: Religion and socio-cultural change in the twenty-first century (pp. 159–174). Farnham/Burlington: Ashgate.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turner, B. S. (2011). Religion and modern society: Citizenship, secularization and the state. Cambridge/New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, Y., & Yang, F. (2006). More than evangelical and ethnic: The ecological factor in chinese conversion to christianity in the united states. Sociology of Religion, 67(2), 179–192. doi:10.1093/socrel/67.2.179.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Woodhead, L., & Heelas, P. (2000). Religion in modern times : An interpretive anthology. Oxford: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yang, F. (2010). Youth and religion in modern china: A sketch of social and political developments. In G. Giordan (Ed.), Annual review of the sociology of religion: Youth and religion (pp. 147–162). Leiden/Boston: Brill.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jayeel Serrano Cornelio .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Singapore

About this entry

Cite this entry

Cornelio, J.S. (2014). Youth and Religion in East and Southeast Asia. In: Wyn, J., Cahill, H. (eds) Handbook of Children and Youth Studies. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-4451-96-3_40-2

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-4451-96-3_40-2

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-4451-96-3

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Social SciencesReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Youth and Religion in East and Southeast Asia
    Published:
    14 April 2024

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-4451-96-3_40-3

  2. Original

    Youth and Religion in East and Southeast Asia
    Published:
    26 August 2014

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-4451-96-3_40-2