Nikolas Broy - 百可思

Religious Studies / Chinese Studies

Currently, I am a postdoc research fellow at the Collaborative Research Centre (SFB) 1199 "Processes of Spatialization under the Global Condition" at the University of Leipzig, where I also earned my PhD in the Study of Religions in 2014.

I have studied Religious Studies and Chinese Studies in Leipzig and worked at the universities of Leipzig and Göttingen, as well as in Hefei, Anhui Province (PRC).

My PhD research dealt with the religious practice of "Vegetarian Sects" in late imperial China and modern Taiwan. My present research focuses on the globalization of Taiwanese religious organizations, in particular I will examine the proselytizing activities of the Yiguandao in South Africa. This postdoc research is part of the SFB project entitled "Taiwanese Religious Organizations and their Internationalization Strategies Since the 1980s" supervised by Philip Clart.

RESEARCH AND TEACHING INTERESTS

Religions in China, particularly late imperial and modern China
Buddhism in East Asia
Buddhism and Violence
Popular Religious Sects and “Redemptive Societies” in Chinese History
Chinese Religions and Globalization
The Politics of "Religion" and "Superstition" in Modern China
Religion in Taiwan
Theory and Method of Religious Studies, especially Theory and Concept of Religion, Sociology of Religion, Max Weber, Pierre Bourdieu, Rational Choice Theory of Religion, Secularization Theory, Religious Practice