Leadership and Enrichment Access Program (LEAP)

Transcription

1 Leadership and Enrichment Access Program (LEAP) In May 2016, Purdue University professors will lead a group of American religious leaders to China to tour sacred sites and meet with China s religious leaders. We hope this forms a lasting dialogue between religious leaders in the U.S. and China.

2 LEAP Tour (General Info) China has become the second largest economy in the world. At the same time, religious institutions in China are thriving. LEAP is a unique enrichment program designed to give religious leaders in the United States access to Chinese religious sites, leaders, and universities through a study tour program. In May 2016, LEAP will offer a tour of China for 10 persons. Selections will be made through an open application process on a competitive basis. Travel in China First, LEAP will host these leaders at Purdue University providing them with an orientation of readings and lectures by experts and preparing them to visit China. The participants will leave from Purdue on an 18-day tour that will include Beijing in the north, Lanzhou in the west, and Shanghai in the south. The participants will participate in seminars on Chinese religions. They will also visit religious sites (e.g., churches, temples, monasteries), and have discussions with local religious leaders. Our site visits will focus on the most rapidly developing religions (Christianity and Buddhism), but will also include visits to Catholic, Daoist, and Islamic venues.

3 Beijing Shanghai We will tour China s capital for five days by visiting Beijing s historic sites (e.g., Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven), as well as local Catholic, Daoist, and Buddhist institutions. We will talk with local scholars and religious leaders about the bureaucratic landscape of Chinese religions. We also will meet with officials in charge of the country s religious affairs. We are confident that our conversations will not only teach participants about China s religious institutions, but Chinese leaders may also gain a better sense of religious life in the U.S.A. Shanghai is undoubtedly one of China s most cosmopolitan and rapidly growing urban areas. This city is also near to the recent growth of Christian churches in coastal China. While we will visit Catholic and Protestant churches in other places, our tour of Shanghai will best reveal the evolution of Chinese Christian churches over the past century. Our conversations with Shanghai leaders will highlight how this city became the epicenter for early missionary activity in China, and how the city continues to serve as an influential center for Christian institutions. Lanzhou Our travels will take us to the western provinces Gansu and Qinghai. In addition to it scenic beauty, this region of China is a microcosm of the ethnic and social complexity in China. Studying in two metropolitan centers (Lanzhou and Xining), demonstrates the complex identities of Tibetan, Muslim, and Han Chinese populations. We will focus on the roles religion plays in negotiating identities between these groups. We will also see on the recent resurgence of Daoism and Tibetan Buddhism in this region on our visits to the recently renovated pilgrimage sites. Cost The LEAP program costs $17,500. This includes all expenses at Purdue and in China (airfare, lodging, meals, tours, reading materials, etc.). Eligible religious leaders should apply for funds through the Lilly Endowment Renewal Programs ( to defray the cost of this trip. Applicants for the 2016 LEAP tour will need to apply for the Lilly Endowment funds by April 15, 2015.

4 Why do U.S. Religious Leaders Need to Experience the New Religious Growth Going on in China Today? China is a new frontier of economic development, and an increasing number of Americans have encountered Chinese culture through business and other opportunities. Religious leaders in the United States need to better understand this new frontier so that they can be equipped to speak meaningfully about it based on China-related experiences. Advantages of LEAP These experiences will also equip religious leaders to open doors of communication with Chinese business leaders and college students whose numbers in the United States are growing. Indeed, Christianity has been growing fast in China to the point that it is now on the list of the top ten countries with largest number of Christians (Pew Report of Global Christianity, 2011). How do Christians manage to thrive in China? How have they been contributing in positive ways to modern life in Chinese society? The LEAP tour of China will focus on the roles American religious leaders can contribute to a productive dialogue between American and Chinese societies. We are committed that we can learn from each other s experiences, enhance mutual understanding, and enrich our lives and professional work. This will help American religious communities, organizations, seminaries, and universities become more enriched and well-informed concerning the globalization of religion in the 21st Century.

5 Center on Religion and Chinese Society The Center on Religion and Chinese Society (CRCS) has become recognized as a preeminent center for the study of religion in China in the United States. Through the organizational work and research activities, CRCS has become a bridge for scholars and peoples across the Pacific and around the globe (see for more information). Since officially established in 2008, CRCS has organized annual conferences, workshops, lectures, public forums, and research projects. Fenggang Yang, Director Fenggang Yang is Professor of Sociology at Purdue University. His research focuses on religious change in China and immigrant religions in the United States. He is the author of Religion in China: Survival and Revival under Communist Rule (2012) and Chinese Christians in America: Conversion, Assimilation, and Adhesive Identities (1999), and the co-editor of six books. He has received two distinguished article awards. Making Connections in China The CRCS has developed an extensive network of scholars and religious leaders in various parts of China. An International Forum The annual Summer Institutes and Conferences have regularly involved religious leaders and scholars from the US and Europe in addition to scholars from various parts of China. Jonathan Pettit, Associate Director A native of Indiana, Jonathan s research focuses on Daoist scriptures, especially the ways that communities invent, revise, and reproduce sacred texts. His upcoming book, A Library of Clouds: A Bibliographic History of Daoist Scriptures, examines the production of apocryphal scriptures in mid-5th century China. Jonathan has also just completed a year-long field study of Yiguan Dao temples in Taiwan with the assistance of UC-Berkeley and National Cheng-chi University. Fostering Change In summers of 2011 and 2012, the CRCS hosted a group of 20 scholars from various universities in China at Purdue for a month-long workshop, along with a number of well-known scholars as guest speakers, and visited churches and social service organizations in the area. The CRCS also sponsors visiting scholars, journalists, lawyers, and artists.

6 Day 1 (May 4): Arrive at Purdue University Day 2-3 (May 5-6): Orientation and seminars at Purdue University Day 4-5 (May 7-8): Depart for Shanghai Day 6-9 (May 9-12): Visit the Shanghai Area that will include: historic and new Protestant and Catholic Churches; Buddhist and Daoist temples, as well as seminars at prominent universities. Day 10 (May 13): Depart for Lanzhou Day (May 14-17): Visit the Lanzhou Area that will include: historical sites of the ancient Silk Road such as ancient Nestorian Christian Churches, and Buddhist and Zoroastrian sites, as well as churches and mosques. Day 15 (May 18): Flight to Beijing Day (May 19-22): Visit the Beijing area that will include: historic and new Protestant and Catholic churches, the Buddhist Temple of Yong-hegong, the Temple of Heaven, the White Cloud Daoist Temple, as well as seminars at the prominent universities in Beijing. Day 20 (May 23): Return to the U.S.A. Day (May 24-25): Debriefing at Purdue University Day 23 (May 26): LEAP participants return home CENTER ON RELIGION AND CHINESE SOCIETY (CRCS) Stone Hall, Room 306, 700 West State Street, West Lafayette, IN Tel:(765) Fax: (765)