Religious activity is a central feature of social life in contemporary Taiwan, a condition with deep historical roots. In fact, these sorts of performances of belief contributed to the construction of modern Taiwanese identities as religion became a contested field of action following Taiwan’s colonization by Japan in 1895, and its recolonization by the Republic of China in 1945. In this talk, drawn from his book Becoming Taiwanese: Ethnogenesis in a Colonial City, 1880s-1950s (Harvard Asia Center, 2019), Dr. Evan Dawley will explore the relationship between ethnic and national identities and explain how religious practice shaped and reinforced Taiwanese consciousness.
