‘Religious Renaissance in China and Taiwan’ Discussed at University Lecture

              The hopes and conflicts resulting from a religious renaissance in China and Taiwan will be discussed by Richard Madsen, Ph.D., an award winning author and distinguished professor at a lecture Thursday, Dec. 5, at The University of Scranton.

Dr. Madsen will present “Religious Renaissance in China and Taiwan: Hopeful Quests and Political Conflict” in the Moskovitz Theater of the DeNaples Center. The lecture, which begins at 7:30 p.m., is free of charge and open to the public.

              A distinguished professor and acting provost of Eleanor Roosevelt College at the University of California, San Diego, Calif., Dr. Madsen is coauthor of “Habits of the Heart,” which won the Los Angeles Times Book Award in 1985, and was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.

              In addition to discussing the religious renaissance that has taken place in China and Taiwan during recent decades, Dr. Madsen will address its impact on political conflict in China and democratic cohesion in Taiwan. He will also explain the difference between the religious renaissance in China and Taiwan.

            Dr. Madsen earned his Ph.D. in sociology from Harvard University. His areas of interest include sociology of religion, comparative sociology, Chinese society and moral anthropology.

            The lecture is co-hosted by the Asian Studies Program at The University of Scranton and the Taiwan Ministry of Culture. The lecture is supported through a grant the University was awarded by Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture. The grant is intended to develop an understanding of Taiwanese culture and society through a variety of programs. The University is one of just 12 schools in the world to participate in this initiative.

            For more information, contact the University’s Asian Studies Office at (570) 941-7643 or Ann Pang-White, Ph.D., director of Asian Studies, at ann.pang-white@scranton.edu