Related to 1999 and 2001 conferences of the US Association of Asian Studies, these nine research papers, highlight and discuss aspects of the continuing importance of world religions in Southeast Asia's public life. The contributors explore the calamities and ironies of Southeast Asian identity politics, examining the ways in which religion and politics are made to serve each other. The subjects explored include: Filipino cultural nationalism in relation to Mt. Banahaw and its priestess; Malaysian Hinduism and the role of a woman medium's "Way of Prayer"; reform campaigns in relation to spirit mediums in Thailand; women's activism in Indonesia under Suharto; Confucianism's role and status in Indonesia; political aspects of funerals in Thailand; colonialists' concepts of "Idolatry" in lowland Philippines; visual art in Acheh including the work of A.D.Pirous (b.1930).