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DEFYING A CENTURY OF PREDICTIONS that East and Southeast Asia would become increasingly secular in an age of modernization and globalization, these regions are in the grips of a religious resurgence. Intriguingly, it's not a return to old-time religion but an explosion of religious movements that are distinctly modern in character. They tend to be laity based, to be receptive to leadership by women, and to preach a path to material wealth, observes Robert W. Hefner, director of the Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs at Boston University.
One of the most dramatic arrivals is El Shaddai, an officially Catholic but Pentecostal-flavored movement with millions of members in the Philippines. Its...