The recent book, Philosophies of Appropriated Religions: Perspectives from Southeast Asia, is a result of the research project of the same name which is supported by the Global Philosophy of Religion Project, University of Birmingham, under the leadership of Prof. Yujin Nagasawa. The project is a unique one in that it is the first attempt at investigating how the world’s major religions, namely Christianity, Buddhism, and Islam, have been received and adapted, in other words, appropriated, into the highly diverse cultural milieux of Southeast Asia. The aim of the book is both philosophical—searching for answers on how culture plays a role in the ways in which perennial philosophical questions are answered, as well as historical and sociological—looking at how beliefs and practices of these major religions have been appropriated by the people in the region.

The book was published by Springer late last year and consists of 27 chapters written by scholars from many countries in Southeast Asia. During the talk, the three editors of the book, Prof. Soraj Hongladarom, Prof. Jeremiah Joven Joaquin, and Prof. Frank J. Hoffman, will talk about the book from various dimensions. They will also talk about their own chapters in the book. Furthermore, some of the authors of the chapters in the book will also be present at the lecture and they will participate in the general discussion with the audience too.