God Making in China: Notes Toward a Theory of Deification
Some religious leaders tend to gravitate towards claims of increasingly greater holiness. This sometimes results in the assumption of explicitly prophetic roles or in more extreme cases, claims of divinity. The present paper discusses the apotheosis of Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Gong. Although...
| Veröffentlicht in: | Temenos |
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| VerfasserInnen: | ; |
| Medienart: | Elektronisch Aufsatz |
| Sprache: | Englisch |
| Verfügbarkeit prüfen: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Lade...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Veröffentlicht: |
[publisher not identified]
2022
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| In: |
Temenos
Jahr: 2022, Band: 58, Heft: 1, Seiten: 41-65 |
| normierte Schlagwort(-folgen): | B
Li, Hongzhi 1951-
/ China
/ Apotheose
/ Theorie
/ Sozialer Prozess
/ Nachfolge
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| RelBib Classification: | AD Religionssoziologie; Religionspolitik AE Religionspsychologie AZ Neue Religionen KBM Asien NBC Gotteslehre |
| weitere Schlagwörter: | B
Deification
B Falun Gong B Frederick Lenz B China B Li Hongzhi B Apotheosis B Divinization B li hongzhi B New Religions |
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| Zusammenfassung: | Some religious leaders tend to gravitate towards claims of increasingly greater holiness. This sometimes results in the assumption of explicitly prophetic roles or in more extreme cases, claims of divinity. The present paper discusses the apotheosis of Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Gong. Although a comprehensive theory of divinization remains elusive, some general points can be made. First, we argue that any effort to theorize deification must include the observation that it is a process that arises in the context of social interaction between leader and followers rather than exclusively within the psyche of the leader, a point which has sometimes been missed in previous analyses. Second, divinization is a gradual process, with claims of divinity typically being amplified over time. Third, one must consider that divinization typically takes place within social spaces more or less set apart from the larger society, with group dynamics that facilitate deification. Fourth, divinization can be a strategy for coping with external threats like critical outsiders and repression. Finally, we argue that any effort to understand deification needs to consider the wider cultural and religious context. ‘God’ is a polythetic term, and divinization may therefore take on many different forms. |
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| ISSN: | 2342-7256 |
| Enthält: | Enthalten in: Temenos
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.33356/temenos.97064 |