The essays in this volume were originally presented at a conference held at National Chung Cheng University in Jiayi, Taiwan in March 2010 entitled (En)countering Globalizations: Religion in the Contemporary World. Convened by the Asia Association for Global Studies (AAGS), a scholarly organization based in Tokyo, the conference gathered scholars from Asia, the Middle East, Europe and North America to examine the impact of globalization on contemporary religious life.

Many individuals helped to make the event a success. Though he was unfortunately unable to attend due to illness, Dr Hans Peter Liederbach (Kwansei Gakuin University, Japan), the former president of AAGS, provided the original idea for the conference. Dr Mark Juergensmeyer (University of California, Santa Barbara), noted expert on religious violence, conflict resolution and South Asian religion and politics, delivered an insightful and captivating keynote address on religious challenges to the secular state. Dr Jou-juo Chu (National Chung Cheng University, Taiwan) and her on-site conference organizing team of students did an exceptional job of welcoming, entertaining and assisting guests. Last but not least, the conference would not have been possible without the enthusiastic participation of some 120 presenters and attendees hailing from 12 different nations.