Religious revival in rural China and the fate of ‘religion’ in China

Abstract

This paper explores three aspects of the question of religious revival in rural China, one of the most ‘unexpected’ phenomena since the beginning of the reform and opening-up policy. Firstly, by offering a critical reappraisal of the three models of explaining religious revival – ‘invention of traditions,’ ‘state–society relation,’ and ‘religious market theory’ – I argue that religion should not be reduced into such categories as ‘politics’ or ‘economy’ but taken as a set of facts sui generis. I delineate some premises implied in the religious market theory, premises that are rather Christian in worldview and cannot fit the Chinese context. Secondly, it is necessary to understand the process of shaping ‘religion’ by the political and intellectual elites in modern Chinese history. Academic claims to legitimize some of the religious practices merely continue the complicity among these elites. Thirdly, religious revival in rural China is largely separated from this process of elite complicity, implying an unknown mechanism with the potential to yield an indigenous social theory. Referring to the recent model of ‘doing religion,’ I emphasize the dimension of morality being central to social solidarity. Finally, I suggest that rather than trying to apply secularization or market theories, we try using a ‘gift model’ to study religious revival.

Beyond Rational and Utilitarian Action: Moral and Emotional Giving Within Chinese Folk Religion

“…Current religious revivals have provided means of more effectively dealing with the broader dimensions of life's everyday challenges. Our findings are not unique as they blend with experiences reported elsewhere in China, for example, Mayfair Mei-hui Yang (2004), Richard Madsen (2010) regarding Christianity, Vincent Goossaert and David Palmer (2011), and Liang (2014, 2017 among copious other research to name a few. As a result, the emerging consensus of research shows people increasingly embrace traditions contemporaneously with the state economic "modernization" project.…”

“…While Liang (2014Liang ( , 2017Liang ( , 2018, as well as Zhe (2008), among others, represent a welcome emerging field of potent alternatives to utilitarian and rationalization models, they tend to overstate their cases by failing to recognize the significance of alternative views that call for a blending. In contrast, Mauss (2016) facilitated interpretations that avoided purely utilitarian, or purely moral or emotional needs, by combining relevant perspectives in a holistic accounting of gift-giving.…”

The psychology of peasant religious conversion for the purpose of disease control: The role of belief in understanding Chinese rural religious practices

“…In previous empirical studies, religious revival was attributed to a variety of factors, such as spiritual emptiness, the failure of local organizations, the rebuilding of temples, loosened state control, and increased social risks. Liang (2015) summarized these explanations under three headings: ‘invention of traditions’; ‘state–society relations’; and ‘religious market theory’. Stating that we should avoid the three explanations above that relate religious problems in rural society to political or economic issues, he further maintained that religious revival should be regarded as a kind of self-contained fact, a basic condition for human beings.…”

“…7 For example, Fan (2009) and Liang (2015) considered the applicability of the discourse on ‘religion’ in Western society, and stated that ‘religion’ as a borrowed word does not effectively match the religious practices in China. For this reason, we can say that the ‘discourse construction of Chinese religious studies’ has also become the consensus and appeal of relevant researchers (Lan, 2015).…”

Diversity without Pluralism: Religious Landscape in Mainland China

“…Vibrant religious revival is perhaps one of the most "unexpected" phenomena in post-Mao China (Liang 2017). Millions of village temples have been rebuilt.…”