“HOLY THINGS IN THAILAND AND THE SPECTRE OF SYNCRETISM”
Nathan McGovern
Associate Professor of Asian Religions
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
Contemporary Thai Buddhists worship a variety of “holy things” (sing saksit), including spirits, gods, and Buddha images, in nearly identical ways for 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 seems 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?
Professional profile: https://southasia.wisc.edu/staff/mcgovern-nathan/