Asian Religions in British Columbia

Edited by Larry DeVries, Don Baker, and Dan Overmyer

SERIES: Asian Religions and Society

UBC Press

British Columbia is Canada’s most ethnically diverse province. Although the presence of Asian religions is felt and discussed in many regions of the province, in general we need to know more about the religions that accompanied immigrants from Asia and how they are practised today.

Asian Religions in British Columbia brings together fourteen local scholars of religion who draw on published histories, archival records, temple brochures, personal experience, and interviews to paint intimate portraits of local religious groups. These include Hindus and Sikhs from South Asia; Buddhist organizations from Southeast Asia; and Tibetan, Japanese, and Chinese religions from East and Central Asia. The geographical focus on British Columbia allows each author to highlight the experiences of individuals with different ethnic backgrounds and their family or community histories. Yet the conceptual focus is broad – the authors explore each religious tradition not only in its local and historical context but also in the larger context of Canadian multiculturalism.

This path-breaking book offers the first comprehensive and comparative examination of Asian religions in British Columbia. Its insightful and accessible community portraits are mandatory reading for teachers, policy makers, scholars of British Columbia history and Asian Canadian studies, or anyone who wants to be well informed about this province and nation.

These insightful, accessible community portraits are mandatory reading for teachers, policy makers, scholars of British Columbia history and Asian Canadian studies, or anyone who wants to be well informed about this province and nation.

RELATED TOPICS: Asian Studies, BC Studies, Regional Studies, Religion & Society, Religion & Spirituality, Sociology

This wonderfully detailed and comprehensive volume provides the first study of Asian religions in BC through a series of portraits of specific religious communities. It brings together the work of a number of scholars who know intimately the religions they describe. They tell stories that are old and new. Diana Lary, BC Studies

Larry DeVries is an instructor in religious studies and Asian studies at Langara College. Don Baker is a professor in Asian studies at the University of British Columbia. Dan Overmyer is professor emeritus in Asian studies at the University of British Columbia.

Contributors: Ian G. Baird, Paul Crowe, Marc des Jardins, Derryl N. MacLean, Bandu Madanayake, Rastin Mehri, Kamala Elizabeth Nayar, Michael Newton, Cam Van Thi Phan (aka Thich nu Tri Kha), James Placzek, Li Yu

Introduction / Don Baker and Larry DeVries

Part 1: Traditions from South Asia

1 Hindu and Other South Asian Religious Groups / Larry DeVries

2 The Making of Sikh Space: The Role of the Gurdwara / Kamala Elizabeth Nayar

3 Religion, Ethnicity, and the Double Diaspora of Asian Muslims / Derryl N. MacLean

4 Zoroastrians in British Columbia / Rastin Mehri

Part 2: Traditions from Southeast Asia

5 Thai and Lao Buddhism / James Placzek and Ian G. Baird

6 Sri Lankan and Myanmar Buddhism / Bandu Madanayake

7 Vietnamese Buddhist Organizations / Cam Van Thi Phan (aka Thich nu Tri Kha)

Part 3: Traditions from East and Central Asia

8 Korean Religiosity in Comparative Perspective / Don Baker