Religion, Secularism, and Love as a Political Discourse in Modern China

This roundtable hopes to convene an interdisciplinary conversation reflecting the spirit of Ting GUO’s Religion, Secularism, and Love as a Political Discourse in Modern China (2025) which explores the political meaning of love in modern Chinese politics and why ai 愛 (love) has been a crucial political discourse for secular nationalism for generations of political leaders as a powerful instrument to the present day. This book offers the first systematic examination of the ways in which the notion of love has been introduced, adapted, and engineered as a political discourse for the building and rebuilding of a secular modern nation, all the while appropriating Confucianism, Christianity, popular religion, ghost stories, political religion, and their religious affects. The insights of this exploration expand not only the discussion of the relationship between religion and politics in modern China, but also the study of affective governance and religious nationalisms around the world today.