The genesis and demarcation of the religious field: monasteries, state schools, and the secular sphere in Lao Buddhism (1893-1975)

Until the 1950s Lao monks and monasteries still had a crucial role in providing education for large parts of the population. With an increasing encroachment of the state, however, educational politics shifted towards the establishment of a state school system and marginalized the monks’ role in publ...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Ladwig, Patrice (Author)
Format: Print Article
Language:English
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Published: Institution 2011
In: Sojourn
Year: 2011, Volume: 26, Issue: 2, Pages: 196-223
Further subjects:B Laos History Nonnen / Mönche Buddhism School Education Secularization Educational institution / Ausbildungseinrichtung Innere Organisation von Institutionen / Organisationen Verhältnis Religionsgemeinschaft - Staat Religious education
B Nun
B Secularization
B Institution
B History
B Educational institution
B School
B Buddhism
B Education
B State
B Religious education
B Organizational structure
B Monk
B Religious organization
B Laos
Description
Summary:Until the 1950s Lao monks and monasteries still had a crucial role in providing education for large parts of the population. With an increasing encroachment of the state, however, educational politics shifted towards the establishment of a state school system and marginalized the monks’ role in public education. The training in monasteries became increasingly linked to a separate, religious field. This article explores the implications and dynamics of these processes with regard to Bourdieu’s theory of differentiation of the religious field and contemporary discussions of secularization. By employing a historical perspective spanning from the colonial period to 1975, the article explores the emergence and the shifting boundaries of the religious field. Largely focusing on institutional structures, I argue that through functional differentiation we witness a demarcation of a religious field and a simultaneous emergence of a secular sphere. (Sojourn/GIGA)
ISSN:0217-9520
Contains:In: Sojourn