IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/pal/palcom/v11y2024i1d10.1057_s41599-024-02977-8.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Folk religion as the “life-world”: revival of folk beliefs and renewal of religious categorization in contemporary China

Author

Listed:
  • Shuai Chi

    (Nankai University)

  • Chao Liu

    (Nanjing University)

Abstract

Religious studies in the past paid more attention to the changes of institutional religion than to the status characteristic of folk beliefs. This paper argues that religious categorization based on institutional religion is not conducive to understanding the cultural and religious life of Chinese society, but rather leads to the stigmatization of folk religion and the reduction of the life-world. From this perspective, the historical development of folk religion affects the relationship between national elites, institutionalized religion, and civil society. Folk religion can be foregrounded and exerts great impact on the rise and fall of institutional religion. The folk religion revival in contemporary China and the development of related studies also promote the renewal of religious categorization. The revival of folk religion in the new millennium can consequently facilitate social integration and provide new possibilities for overcoming institutional religion’s exclusiveness and for increasing the cultural diversity of Chinese society.

Suggested Citation

  • Shuai Chi & Chao Liu, 2024. "Folk religion as the “life-world”: revival of folk beliefs and renewal of religious categorization in contemporary China," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-12, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:11:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-024-02977-8
    DOI: 10.1057/s41599-024-02977-8
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s41599-024-02977-8
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1057/s41599-024-02977-8?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Richard Madsen, 2011. "Religious Renaissance in China Today," Journal of Current Chinese Affairs - China aktuell, Institute of Asian Studies, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies, Hamburg, vol. 40(2), pages 17-42.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. David C. Schak, 2011. "Protestantism in China: A Dilemma for the Party-State," Journal of Current Chinese Affairs - China aktuell, Institute of Asian Studies, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies, Hamburg, vol. 40(2), pages 71-106.
    2. Andy Yee, 2011. "Maritime Territorial Disputes in East Asia: A Comparative Analysis of the South China Sea and the East China Sea," Journal of Current Chinese Affairs - China aktuell, Institute of Asian Studies, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies, Hamburg, vol. 40(2), pages 165-193.
    3. Lawrence C. Reardon, 2011. "Ideational Learning and the Paradox of Chinese Catholic Reconciliation," Journal of Current Chinese Affairs - China aktuell, Institute of Asian Studies, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies, Hamburg, vol. 40(2), pages 43-70.
    4. Meng-chi Hsueh, 2021. "Religious revival or control? Reading the spatial politics of an officially atheist country’s planning of religious scenic areas: Three cases in Shaanxi, China," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 39(4), pages 818-837, June.
    5. André Laliberté, 2011. "Buddhist Revival under State Watch," Journal of Current Chinese Affairs - China aktuell, Institute of Asian Studies, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies, Hamburg, vol. 40(2), pages 107-134.
    6. Jun Lu & Qin Gao, 2017. "Faith and Happiness in China: Roles of Religious Identity, Beliefs, and Practice," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 132(1), pages 273-290, May.
    7. André Laliberté, 2011. "Religion and the State in China: The Limits of Institutionalization," Journal of Current Chinese Affairs - China aktuell, Institute of Asian Studies, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies, Hamburg, vol. 40(2), pages 3-15.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:11:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-024-02977-8. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.nature.com/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.