Esther-Maria Guggenmos

As professor of the history of religions I specialize on contemporary religion in East Asia. Concentrating on Chinese Buddhism and the role of religion in society, my approach is inspired by the aesthetics of religion and the analysis of decision-making processes.

Trained in Religious Studies, Sinology, and Theology (Münster, Bonn, Taipeh), I am fascinated by Chinese Buddhist life. In my Ph.D. thesis, I analyzed the motivation of lay believers to denote themselves Buddhist in urban settings (Ghent, 2010). From 2009 onwards, I reflected on Chinese Buddhist divination (habilitation) and engaged in establishing the IKGF (Univ. Erlangen-Nuremberg) that deals with conceptualizations of the future between Asia and Europe. I am currently going deeper into the question of how in Chinese Buddhist practices, rituals and ritually cultivated patterns of emotion are impacted by global interconnectedness, digitalisation, and capitalisation.