Religious and Philosophical Traditions of Korea

Kevin Cawley has produced a thoughtful and extremely readable introduction to the history of religions and philosophical systems in Korea. This work, as well as illuminating Korea's fascinating and diverse religious landscape also thoroughly situates the traditions discussed within the broader East Asian context making this an invaluable companion for the student of East Asian thought. James Kapalo, University College Cork, Ireland. Kevin Cawley's Religious and Philosophical Traditions of Korea is an excellent phenomenological and chronological overview suitable for undergraduates or for post-graduates wanting to understand the distinctive character of these traditions in Korea. Written in a highly readable style, Cawley's book Illustrates how these traditions continue to influence contemporary culture. Highly recommended. James H. Grayson, Emeritus Professor, The University of Sheffield, UK Until Cawley's textbook, there has been no text in the Anglophone literature that explains the religious and philosophical traditions of Korea in a historically comprehensive manner. It fills this significant gap in a way that will be appealing to a range of students and scholars, and will be tremendously useful pedagogically. David H Kim, University of San Francisco, USA Korean history is often interpreted from a political perspective, but Kevin Cawley innovatively applied a religio-philosophical insight of transnational East Asia in which the nation is depicted as a transformative peninsula. the highlight of the book is the encountering dialogues of Catholics, NRMs, chuch'e, and cyber-mudang within the context of modernity for readers in Asian studies, history, philosophy, sociology, and religious studies. David W Kim, Australian National University, Australia Kevin Cawley has produced a thoughtful and extremely readable introduction to the history of religions and philosophical systems in Korea. This work, as well as illuminating Korea's fascinating and diverse religious landscape also thoroughly situates the traditions discussed within the broader East Asian context making this an invaluable companion for the student of East Asian thought. James Kapalo, University College Cork, Ireland Kevin Cawley's Religious and Philosophical Traditions of Korea is an excellent phenomenological and chronological overview suitable for undergraduates or for post-graduates wanting to understand the distinctive character of these traditions in Korea. Written in a highly readable style, Cawley's book illustrates how these traditions continue to influence contemporary culture. Highly recommended. James H. Grayson, Emeritus Professor, The University of Sheffield, UK Until Cawley's textbook, there has been no text in the Anglophone literature that explains the religious and philosophical traditions of Korea in a historically comprehensive manner. It fills this significant gap in a way that will be appealing to a range of students and scholars, and will be tremendously useful pedagogically. David H. Kim, University of San Francisco, USA Korean history is often interpreted from a political perspective, but Kevin Cawley has innovatively applied a religio-philosophical insight of transnational East Asia in which the nation is depicted as a transformative peninsula. The highlight of the book is the encountering dialogues of Catholics, NRMs, chuch'e and cyber-mudang within the context of modernity for readers in Asian studies, history, philosophy, sociology and religious studies. David W. Kim, Australian National University, Australia The six chapters are each equally captivating...This book is certainly a very helpful guide for students of East Asian intellectual history as it endows the reader with an understanding of the central problems of Korean philosophical and religious traditions. Lehel Balogh, Hokkaido University, Japan