Cover; Half Title; Title Page; Copyright Page; Table of Contents; Illustrations; Notes on contributors; Acknowledgements; Introduction: constructing religion and religions in Asia; Asian origins: religious formations; 1 The invention of religions in East Asia; 2 Revealing the Vedas in 'Hinduism': foundations and issues of interpretations of religion in South Asian Hindu traditions; 3 Dual belief in Heaven and spirits: the metaphysical foundation of Confucian morality; 4 Sikhism and its changing social structure; Missions, states and religious competition; 5 Catholicism in India.;The Routledge Handbook of Religions in Asia provides a contemporary and comprehensive overview of religion in contemporary Asia. Compiled and introduced by Bryan S. Turner and Oscar Salemink, the Handbook contains specially written chapters by experts in their respective fields. The wide-ranging introduction discusses issues surrounding Orientalism and the historical development of the discipline of Religious Studies. It conveys how there have been many centuries of interaction between different religious traditions in Asia and discusses the problem of world religions and the range of concepts.