Religion

Topics represented

Religion (351) · Buddhist traditions (97) · Hindu traditions (62) · Chinese traditions (61) · Judaism (43) · Islam (42) · Christianity (34) · Empire and state (20) · Daoist traditions (19) · Catholic Christianity (17) · Sunni (16) · Roman Empire (14)

Records and sources

Ordered by start date. Long lives and processes may begin before the period you want to study.

1. 1815

   Kandyan Convention transfers the kingdom to the Crown

   Kandyan chiefs and British officials deposed King Sri Vikrama Rajasinha and transferred sovereignty to the Crown, which promised to protect Buddhism and customary practices. The subsequent breach of those expectations helped drive the Uva-Wellassa uprising of 1817–1818

2. 1818

   Hamburg Reform Temple

   Early Reform worship crystallized debates over liturgy, language, ritual, and authority that shaped modern movements.

3. 1828

   Brahmo Sabha and Bengali reform

   Rammohun Roy founded the Brahmo Sabha; its reform ideas critically engaged Hindu traditions.

4. 1829

   Regulation prohibiting sati

   The colonial regulation requires context of reformers, local debate, and colonial power, not a single religious cause.

5. 1833–1902

   Siamese monastic reforms

   Mongkut founded the Thammayut fraternity in 1833. Subsequent reforms of monastic registration and administration culminated in Chulalongkorn’s first Sangha Act in 1902.

6. 1839–1842

   Construction of Thian Hock Keng in Singapore

   Chinese immigrants funded this Mazu temple, built between 1839 and 1842. Materials and artisans from Fujian linked the port of Singapore to religious networks in southern China.

7. 1839–1876

   Ottoman Tanzimat

   Reforms centered on justice and equality before the law for Ottoman subjects; a milestone for studying religion, citizenship, and modern institutions.

8. c. 1840–c. 1921

   Yaa Asantewaa

   Queen Mother of Ejisu within the Asante political world, Yaa Asantewaa led the 1900 resistance known as the War of the Golden Stool. Britain’s demand concerning the stool, a symbol of the nation, made cultural sovereignty and political power part of the same conflict. After defeat she was exiled to Seychelles, where she died; the stool was not surrendered, and her leadership remains central to Ghanaian memory

9. 1845–1872

   The New Zealand Wars contest land and sovereignty

   Crown and colonial forces fought different iwi and Māori movements in distinct campaigns rather than one continuous war. Settler expansion, disputed purchases, and land confiscations were central; resistance included the Kīngitanga, innovative fortifications, and political and religious strategies

10. 1860–1930

    Mass devotional print culture

    Chromolithographs and presses circulated deities and household images at scale without making practice uniform.

11. 1868

    The Maqdala expedition loots Tewodros II’s capital

    A vast force sent from India freed European hostages, defeated Emperor Tewodros II, and looted Maqdala. British soldiers and museums acquired manuscripts, sacred objects, and regalia; Ethiopian restitution claims continue and some institutions have returned or loaned objects

12. 1868

    Shinbutsu separation and Meiji

    Policies separating kami and buddhas reorder Japanese Buddhist institutions; shared practices do not automatically disappear.

13. 1875

    Founding of Arya Samaj

    Dayananda Sarasvati founded a Vedic reform movement with educational and shuddhi programs.

14. 1880

    Olcott and Buddhist networks in Sri Lanka

    Henry Steel Olcott and Helena Blavatsky arrive in Sri Lanka in 1880 and meet monastic and lay leaders. That year the Colombo branch of the Theosophical Society, known as the Buddhist Theosophical Society, is founded. BPS’s commemorative history documents this episode of organization under colonial rule.

15. 1881–1884

    Pogroms and mass migration

    Anti-Jewish violence in the Russian Empire accelerated migration to the Americas and elsewhere, as well as self-organization and Zionism.

16. 1882

    Chinese Exclusion in the United States

    The United States law restricted Chinese immigration and shaped diaspora communities and associations. It provides a political context for transnational practices.

17. 1891

    Maha Bodhi Society

    Anagarika Dharmapala advances a modern network for Bodh Gaya recovery and transnational Buddhist contacts.

18. 1893

    World Parliament of Religions

    From 11 to 27 September 1893, Anagarika Dharmapala and Soyen Shaku participated in Chicago alongside other religious representatives. The gathering documents exchange and public representation, not the beginning of Western Buddhism.

19. 1893

    Vivekananda in Chicago

    His appearance helped shape global presentations of Vedanta and yoga but did not universally represent the traditions.

20. 1897

    First Zionist Congress

    The Basel congress institutionalized modern political Zionism; Jewish communities retain diverse positions on Zionism.

21. 1898

    Temple property and new schools

    Proposals to establish schools with temple property created disputes over educational reform, ritual assets and local authority. Their uneven effects on Buddhist, Daoist and local temples did not amount to a uniform confiscation or the end of religious traditions.

22. 1900

    Yaa Asantewaa leads the War of the Golden Stool

    Governor Frederick Hodgson’s demand to sit on the Golden Stool, symbol of the Asante nation, provoked an uprising led by Queen Mother Yaa Asantewaa. Asante forces besieged Kumasi; after defeat leaders were exiled, but the stool was never surrendered

23. 1905

    Abolition of imperial examinations

    Abolition transformed an institution that had linked classical learning, scholarly mobility and the state for centuries. Confucian practices continued after the examinations ended.

24. 1910

    Edinburgh World Missionary Conference

    The conference brought together Protestant and Anglican missionary societies and was a decisive precursor of the modern ecumenical movement. It did not represent every Christian tradition or every voice in missionized territories.

25. 1912

    Religious equality in the Provisional Constitution

    Articles 5 and 6 of the 1912 Provisional Constitution recognize equality without religious distinction and freedom of religion. The translation sent by the American legation preserves the legal text; the provision does not by itself demonstrate uniform implementation.

26. 1915

    Hindu Mahasabha

    A political association articulating “Hindu” in modern nationalisms; it is not equivalent to devotional practice.

27. 1917

    The Balfour Declaration promises a Jewish “national home”

    Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour conveyed British support for a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine, with a clause against prejudicing the civil and religious rights of non-Jewish communities. It did not recognize Palestinian national political rights and was issued before British occupation was consolidated

28. 1917

    Balfour Declaration

    The British government declared support for a “national home” for the Jewish people in Palestine; it requires context about the Palestinian population and later Mandate.

29. 1919

    May Fourth Movement

    Intellectuals and activists critically debated tradition, science, democracy and family hierarchy. Confucianism became a subject of reinterpretation and controversy rather than simply disappearing.

30. 1922–1923

    The League approves the Mandate for Palestine

    The instrument incorporated the Balfour Declaration and charged Britain with facilitating the Jewish national home and developing self-governing institutions, alongside an obligation to safeguard all inhabitants. Tension between these duties and the absence of Palestinian consent structured mandate rule