Deprivation, Compensation and Religion: The Rise and Fall of Jehovah's Witnesses in Han Chinese Dominant Chishang Township, Eastern Taiwan
Chishang Township, of Taitung County, is situated in the central part of the Hwadong Rift Valley in Eastern Taiwan, with a population of approximately 9,000 people. Minnan and Hakka groups that moved to this area from Western Taiwan after the 1920s are the major residents. The other 20 or so per cen...
| Published in: | Studies in world christianity |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic/Print Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
University Press
[2017]
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| In: |
Studies in world christianity
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| RelBib Classification: | KAJ Church history 1914-; recent history KBM Asia KDH Christian sects |
| Further subjects: | B
God (Judaism)
Name
B Deprivation B Christian Education B Jehovah's Witnesses B Religious Education B Compensation B Taiwan B Religion B RELIGIOUS addicts B Buddhist Education |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | Chishang Township, of Taitung County, is situated in the central part of the Hwadong Rift Valley in Eastern Taiwan, with a population of approximately 9,000 people. Minnan and Hakka groups that moved to this area from Western Taiwan after the 1920s are the major residents. The other 20 or so per cent consists of the Amis peoples, the most significant minority ethnic group in the Chishang area, who arrived from Southern Taiwan after the 1830s. The primary religion in this area is a folk religion blending Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. After the establishment of worship centred on the Yuqing Temple in the late 1950s, Han religion consolidated its dominance in Chishang Township. However, the Jehovah's Witnesses started to propagate their Kingdom Hall among the Amis in the late 1930s during the Japanese rule. In the 1950s to 1960s after Taiwan came under Chinese Nationalist (KMT) rule, at least 70 per cent of the local Amis accepted this branch of Christianity. Although there is presently a high proportion of Amis that have converted to the Han religion, there is still a significant Jehovah's Witnesses presence within the Amis community. This paper employs historical documentation and fieldwork data to explore the history and social background of the developments of different denominations of Christianity in Chishang Township and the changes in the local Amis religious landscape. I will focus on the rise and fall of different Christian denominations in Amis society under the dominance of Han religion, specifically the Jehovah's Witnesses Kingdom Hall. |
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| ISSN: | 1354-9901 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Studies in world christianity
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.3366/swc.2017.0181 |