In pre-modern religions in the geographical context of Asia we encounter unique scripts, number systems, calendars, and naming conventions. These make the Western-built world of consumer technology an ill fit to our needs. Even tools specifically developed for digital humanities often do not support our needs. The present volume explores not only this struggle, the limitations, and potential opportunities of applying a digital humanities approach to pre-modern Asian religions, but also the "re-"emergence of Orientalism as a conceptual framework for the study of these religions in an increasingly digital world and the vitality brought to them through their "digitization". The volume covers Buddhism, Christianity, Daoism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism and Shintoism with chapters categorized according to their focus on: 1) temples, 2) manuscripts, 3) texts, and 4) social media. The volume will thus suit those academics and students who want to explore the potentialities of and learn from practical examples within the digital humanities, but also those already engaged in the field who are looking for a critical reflection on the state of the field which pushes the interface between the digital humanities and pre-modern Asian religions into new and potentially uncertain territory.
