Organizer: Center for Southeast Asian Studies at University of Wisconsin - Madison

Type/Location: In Person / Madison, WI

Description:

Contemporary Thai Buddhists worship a variety of “holy things” (sing saksit), including spirits, gods, and Buddha images, in nearly identical ways to mundane boons. Although the model of syncretism has largely been rejected in Religious Studies, aspects of the Thai worship of these holy things, as well as the language used by Thai Buddhists themselves, still stubbornly seem to suggest that syncretism is at play. In this talk, which is based on his book, Holy Things: The Genealogy of the Sacred in Thai Religion, which was recently released by Oxford University Press, McGovern answers the question, If syncretism is so wrong, then why does it feel so right?

About the Speaker:

Nathan McGovern is an Associate Professor of Asian Religions at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. His research focuses on the boundary and interactions between Buddhism and Brahmanism/Hinduism. His work examines this boundary in two primary contexts: ancient India (late first millennium BCE) and Thailand, both historically and in contemporary times. In ancient India, McGovern aims to deepen the understanding of how Buddhist, Brahmanical, and Jain identities emerged and interacted with one another. In Thailand, he explores the role of superficially “Hindu” elements within the predominantly Theravada Buddhist religious landscape. His first book, The Snake and the Mongoose, was published by Oxford University Press in 2019. His most recent book, titled Holy Things: The Genealogy of the Sacred in Thai Religion, investigates the propitiation of gods, spirits, and Buddha images for boons in Thailand.

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