Rivers and Religion. Connecting Cultures of South and Southeast Asia The 8th South and Southeast Asian Association for the Study of Culture and Religion (SSEASR) Conference and Its Special Session at the Buddhist sites of Bangladesh

The report of the regional conference (Dhaka, Bangladesh, June 2019) affiliated with the International Association for the History of Religions presents conceptual analysis of the papers brought together by the ‘river’ theme. Most of them focused on various aspects of the reciprocal connection and interdependence of rivers as natural water resource and religions as a socio-cultural construct. It also provides an analysis of the impact of religious beliefs on the recoding of geographical markers into cultural symbols. Similarly, the rivers and the religions are regarded as factors of physical and socio-political connectivity and disconnection in the context of their role in the formation of micro- and vast macro-regions, such as the South and South-East Asia.

The author declares that there is no conflict of interest.

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