Abstract

This article aims to feature and present a collection of narratives on religion drawn from the author’s travels in Southeast Asia, with a selective centering on experiences gathered from Thailand, Myanmar, and Indonesia. Since time immemorial in Asia, religion has played a substantial role in shaping each society’s identity, history, and culture. Religion can either instigate long-lasting camaraderie or even divisiveness. This paper focuses on how religion has reflected and enriched the diversity of Asian history and culture. Moreover, this paper demonstrates how religion influenced the political development process and became a de facto parameter of ethical standards. This article desires to contribute two things. First, via conveying an appreciation of anecdotal narratives as a sophisticated form of literature and a formal approach to describing an in-depth experience. Utilizing a form of descriptive storytelling undoubtedly constructs knowledge of the perceived other. Second, via contributing significantly to Araling Kabanwahan (or a Philippine approach to Area Studies and Regionalism Studies). Araling Kabanwahan, in this regard, serves as a powerful lens for an understanding of being a Filipino by studying the history of other localities in Asia, which in turn, broadens our perspective. Although this paper is not focused on the Philippine setting per se, it offers an avenue towards realizing the spectrum of similarities and differences of the Asian experience in terms of religion. Primarily gathered from first-hand accounts of various individuals from various religious backgrounds, this paper tackles experiences brought by Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism. It is important here finally to emphasize that the author acknowledges that he is a taga-labas, or an outsider from the ones being studied. Despite being an outsider, however, the author still attempted to apply an objective, academic, and unbiased approach to interpreting personal narratives.