Traditionalist East Asia

Traditionalism is an anti-modernist movement that falls under the alternative religious context and is primarily based on the teachings of French thinker René Guénon (1886–1951). At its core, traditionalism is committed to the notion of “perennialism,” that is, the idea that there is a universal truth underlying all major religions which must be unearthed. Traditionalists primarily draw on Asian religions and their concepts, such as Islamic Sufism and Indian Vedanta, as well as East Asian religions like Japanese Zen Buddhism, Shinto, and Chinese Daoism, selectively adapting them to their own intellectual framework in an Orientalist manner. Although Traditionalism’s most prominent figures have long since passed away, their ideas and works continue to exert a significant influence to this day. The teachings of the Italian thinker Julius Evola (1898–1974), for example, are an important source of inspiration for the alt-right movement and its various esoteric and neo-pagan offshoots. Evola’s interpretation of Zen Buddhism is particularly significant in this context. Moreover, Traditionalist interpretations of (East) Asian religions continue to influence their general perception to this day.

This project explores how eminent Traditionalist thinkers negotiate East Asian religions and their concepts, and how these continue to live on in various religious and political discourses, sometimes in highly controversial ways, to the present day.