Dissemination and aggregation: Some reflections on the transformation processes affecting folk belief in China
The relevance of investigating the religious life of the common people in China has long been underestimated. This paper first examines the concepts of folk belief and folk religion and their characteristics based on historical and empirical materials. Then it addresses the possible patterns affecti...
Main Author: | |
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Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
Journals Online & Print: | |
Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
Published: |
Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group
2015
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In: |
Studies in Chinese Religions
Year: 2015, Volume: 1, Issue: 4, Pages: 306-322 |
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
China
/ Popular belief
/ Folk religion
/ Religious change
/ History
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RelBib Classification: | AD Sociology of religion; religious policy AG Religious life; material religion KBM Asia TA History |
Further subjects: | B
dynamic interchangeability of religious elements
B folk belief B China B Folk Religion B social permeability of ‘great traditions’ and ‘little traditions’ |
Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
Summary: | The relevance of investigating the religious life of the common people in China has long been underestimated. This paper first examines the concepts of folk belief and folk religion and their characteristics based on historical and empirical materials. Then it addresses the possible patterns affecting the changeable religious elements - dissemination and aggregation. Finally, it describes the differing dynamics of integration within certain specific religions. The author argues that the social permeability of ‘little traditions’ and ‘great traditions’ has provided a substantial orientation for the establishment of people’s religious lives, and may also serve as a lens through which we may better understand the processes of social transformation in China. |
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ISSN: | 2372-9996 |
Contains: | Enthalten in: Studies in Chinese Religions
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Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/23729988.2015.1131458 |