The international workshop Secularisation and Changing Religiosity. Cases from Taiwan and the Netherlands is organised by: International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS) Nonnensteeg 1-3 2311 VJ Leiden The Netherlands Tel: +31-71-5272227 Fax: +31-71-5274162 iias@let.leidenuniv.nl Convenors: Prof. Hei-yuan Chiu European Chair for Chinese Studies, International Institute for Asian Studies / Institute of Sociology, Academia Sinica, Taiwan Prof. Barend J. ter Haar Department of Chinese Studies, Leiden University The organisers of the Secularisation and Changing Religiosity. Cases from Taiwan and the Netherlands workshop gratefully acknowledge the following sponsors:
Programme Secularisation and Changing Religiosity Cases from Taiwan and the Netherlands 16 17 June 2008 Venue: Gravensteen (room 111) Pieterskerkhof 6 Leiden Monday 16 June 2008 9.00 9.30 hrs Registration 9.30 9.45 hrs Word of Welcome by * Prof. Henk Schulte Nordholt President, International Institute for Asian Studies, * Prof. Hei-yuan Chiu International Institute for Asian Studies, & Institute of Sociology, Academia Sinica, Department of Sociology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan Session I Chair - Prof. Barend J. ter Haar, Department of Chinese Studies, Leiden University, the Netherlands 9.45 10.40 hrs Prof. Meerten ter Borg, Sociology of Religion, Non-institutional religion, Faculty of Religious Studies, Leiden University, the Netherlands Secularisation and de-secularisation in the Netherlands after 1945. The socio-cultural context Discussant: Dr Bart Labuschagne, Philosophy of Law / Jurisprudence, Department Metajuridica, Law Faculty, Leiden University, the Netherlands 10.40 11.05 hrs Coffee break 3
11.05 12.00 hrs Dr Bart Labuschagne, Philosophy of Law / Jurisprudence, Department Metajuridica, Law Faculty, Leiden University, the Netherlands Beyond Secularisation. Are we living in a post-secular age? Discussant: Prof. Richard Madsen, Chairman, Department of Sociology, University of California, San Diego, USA 12.00 14.00 hrs Lunch Session II Chair Prof. Hei-yuan Chiu, International Institute for Asian Studies, Leiden, the Netherlands & Institute of Sociology, Academia Sinica, Department of Sociology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan 14.00 14.50 Prof. Richard Madsen, Chairman, Department of Sociology, University of California, San Diego, USA Secular State and Religious Society in Taiwan Discussant: Prof. Cheng-tian Kuo, Department of Political Science and Graduate Institute of Religious Studies, National Chengchi University, Taipei, Taiwan 14.50 15.40 hrs Prof. Cheng-tian Kuo, Department of Political Science and Graduate Institute of Religious Studies, National Chengchi University, Taipei, Taiwan Democratic Religion and the State in Taiwan Discussant: Prof. Richard Madsen, Chairman, Department of Sociology, University of California, San Diego, USA 15.40 16.00 hrs Coffee break Session III Chair Prof. Richard Madsen, Chairman, Department of Sociology, University of California, San Diego, USA 16.00 16.50 hrs Prof. Barend J. ter Haar, Department of Chinese Studies, Leiden University, the Netherlands Thinking through secularization. Historical examples Discussant: Prof. Robert P. Weller, Chairman, Department of Anthropology, Boston University, USA 4
Tuesday 17 June 2008 Session IV Chair Prof. Robert P. Weller, Chairman, Department of Anthropology, Boston University, USA 9.00 9.50 hrs Prof. Hei-yuan Chiu, International Institute for Asian Studies, & Institute of Sociology, Academia Sinica, Department of Sociology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan Changes in Religious and Occult Attitudes and Behaviors (1985 2005). Examining the Effects of Secularization Discussant: Dr Wen-ban Kuo, Department of Sociology, National Taipei University, Taiwan 9.50 10.40 hrs Dr Wen-ban Kuo, Department of Sociology, National Taipei University, Taiwan The Persistence and Changes of Religions in Taiwan Discussant: Prof. Hei-yuan Chiu, International Institute for Asian Studies, Leiden, the Netherlands & Institute of Sociology, Academia Sinica, Department of Sociology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan 10.40 11.00 hrs Coffee break Session V Chair - Prof. Richard Madsen, Chairman, Department of Sociology, University of California, San Diego, USA 11.00 11.50 hrs Prof. Robert P. Weller, Chairman, Department of Anthropology, Boston University, USA Religions and the Public Good in Lukang, Taiwan. Beyond Globalization and Secularization Discussant: Prof. Barend J. ter Haar, Department of Chinese Studies, Leiden University, the Netherlands Concluding session Chair - Prof. Hei-yuan Chiu, International Institute for Asian Studies, Leiden, the Netherlands & Institute of Sociology, Academia Sinica, Department of Sociology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan 11.50 12.30 Concluding discussion 5
Abstracts in Order of Presentation Secularisation and de-secularisation in the Netherlands after 1945. The socio-cultural context Prof. Meerten ter Borg Sociology of Religion, Non-institutional religion, Faculty of Religious Studies, Leiden University, the Netherlands My paper will consist of a historical overview of religion and secularisation in the Netherlands. It will amount to a refutation of the secularisation thesis, according to which modernization and religion are ultimately incompatible. In the 19 th century, the process of modernisation stimulated, rather than diminished, the growth of religion. As a matter of fact, religion and religious organisations provided a shelter against feelings of anxiety that this process caused. In the 1960s, however, this effect seemed to evaporate, and massive desertion from the churches followed. This process of a desertion of the churches continues until this day, but it no longer implies that religious feelings are diminishing. As a consequence of the process of globalisation, the interest in religion seems to grow, at least according to some scholars. Beyond Secularisation. Are we living in a post-secular age? Dr Bart Labuschagne Philosophy of Law / Jurisprudence, Dept. Metajuridica, Law Faculty Leiden University, the Netherlands In recent work of Charles Taylor and Jürgen Habermas, intense philosophical attention is paid to the concept of secularization and to the proper role of religion in the public sphere. How can freedom and tolerance be maintained under growing religious pluralism in society? Taylor describes and defences the idea that the modern West is living in a secular age (A Secular Age, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Belknap / Harvard U.P. 2007). Habermas however, states that our time is of a post-secular nature (Between Naturalism and Religion, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Polity Press, 2008). Both philosophers make factual claims on secularization and what it means, but argue also normatively on the proper place of religion in the public sphere, under modern constitutions. Is the idea of post-secularity a viable concept for both understanding secularization and coming to terms with religion in the public sphere? In my paper, I will confront these two philosophers with each other and try to apply this idea of post-secularity critically on current debate about religion in the Netherlands. 6
Secular State and Religious Society in Taiwan Prof. Richard Madsen Chairman, Department of Sociology, University of California, San Diego, USA In his book A Secular Age, Charles Taylor distinguishes three meanings of secularism, at least as applied to North Atlantic societies: political secularism, which refers to the state s neutrality with regard to religion; sociological secularism, which refers to a decline in religious belief and practice; and cultural secularism, which refers to changed conditions of belief, which make religious belief only one option among others. In this paper, I will try to fit this framework to Taiwan. I will argue that the framework is useful for making sense out of many contemporary developments in Taiwan, but the fit is not perfect. Even where the framework does not perfectly fit, however, the lack of fit is useful for highlighting particular dilemmas faced by Taiwan in an era of political and religious transformation. Democratic Religion and the State in Taiwan Prof. Cheng-tian Kuo Department of Political Science and Graduate Institute of Religious Studies National Chengchi University, Taipei, Taiwan If the separation of state and religion is the hallmark of religious secularization, the Taiwanese have not taken it seriously, nor have their religious rights or democratic values suffered significantly from it. On the contrary, religious revivalism and democratic commitment have reinforced each other during the democratization process. The major explanation lies in the various interactions between democratic religions and the state during Taiwan s democratization process. This paper starts with a description of religion-state relations during the 2008 presidential campaign in which both presidential candidates and religious leaders made explicit statements and gestures that would have been construed by Western secularists as blatant violations of religion-state separation. However, few Taiwanese raised a flag about it. These Taiwanese anomalies are not caused by the underdevelopment of religion-state relations in Taiwan but by the normative and empirical flaws of the theories of secularization. The second section critically analyzes the intellectual development of the secularization theories from John Locke to the recent theories of public religion. The third section proposes a theory of democratic religion to replace both the secularization and public religion theories. The fourth section applies the democratic religion theory to the Taiwanese case. The last section summarizes the major theoretical and empirical findings of this paper. Thinking through secularization. Historical examples Prof. Barend J. ter Haar Department of Chinese Studies, Leiden University, the Netherlands This paper will look at the issue of secularization as a process with an open end, using my own research in Qing-PRC religious history as an empirical basis. The paper will raise issues rather than solve them. 7
a. I will contend that there are types of religious change in the late imperial period that foreshadow an internally generated process of simplification (trend towards monotheism in some groups, more text based religious culture) and maybe secularization. b. There are process of forced secularization that may have resulted partly in a deinstitutionalization, rather than a true secularization, although the two are sometimes confused. c. There is also a process of reinstitutionalization and desecularization going on, of which the Faoun Gong and the growing importance of Christianity are but two examples. Changes in Religious and Occult Attitudes and Behaviors (1985 2005). Examining the Effects of Secularization Prof. Hei-yuan Chiu International Institute for Asian Studies, & Institute of Sociology, Academia Sinica, Department of Sociology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan By analyzing the survey data of five general surveys and three specific surveys on religion of Taiwan Social Change Survey from 1985 to 2005, the study attempted to examine the effects of the process of secularization on various religious and occult attitudes and behaviors. The effects of education, religious affiliations, and time on various of attitudes and behaviors are examined. Education as a major instrumental means of secularization, affects the most of religious attitudes significantly. Especially, education reduces people s strength of attitudes regarding ancestor worship. In addition, education also weakens people s beliefs in fate, karma, and ghosts. However, education strengthens the belief in chi. With regards to the impact of religious affiliation, it is found that people with different religious affiliations have stronger attitudes regarding religion than non-religious. In terms of changing trends showing by the time differences, ancestor worship is noticeably weakened, People s faith in Chi in the past 10 years have significantly weakened, but people s beliefs in soul, fate, karma and ghosts do not change significantly. Education has the inhibitive effects on people s beliefs in day selection, geomancy, and supernatural powers, but enhances belief on Chinese astrology (Ziwei-dou-shu). However, education has no significant effects on eight character, palm reading, mogu and horoscopes. In terms of effect of religious affiliation, traditional religious followers, including the converted Buddhists, have strong attitudes regarding occultism. On the other hands, the Christians always have weaker attitudes regarding occultism. Since 1994, almost all occult behaviors have declined. The higher the level of education, the less frequent the various religious behaviors such as temple or church attendances, pilgrimage, possessing religious relics, and even donations. On the other hand, education has the effect to promote meditation, chanting, reading religious classics, and praying. In terms of changes, the temple or church attendances seem to increase significantly. No changes or even decline are found for other religious behaviors. Overall speaking, many religious and occult attitudes and behaviors have been inhibited by the process of secularization. However, secularization does not contribute to the weakening and even disappearance of all religious and occult attitudes and behaviors. 8
The Persistence and Changes of Religions in Taiwan Dr Wen-ban Kuo Department of Sociology, National Taipei University, Taiwan Using secularization thesis as a heuristic tool, this paper examines the religious changes on Taiwan from 1994 to 2004. Two sets of independent variables were singled out, among them, age, education and urbanization formed the secularizing set, personal religious change and categories of religious/non-religious affiliation together served as the desecularizing set. Using three waves of data collected by Taiwan Social Change Survey, the effects of these two sets on the strength of religious interests and religious beliefs were evaluated in a series of general linear models. The overall effects of the Secularizing set appeared to be mixed; they suppressed certain religious interests and beliefs, yet heightened some others. As to the de-secularizing set, personal religious changes appeared to increase not so much the strengths of the individuals beliefs, but those of their religious interests. Different categories of religious/nonreligious affiliations assumed different forms of de-secularization. This paper concludes that the dialectics of the secularizing and desecularizing forces as well as the interactions among different religions and those of the religious and the non-religious continuously and jointly keep forming the Taiwanese society. Religions and the Public Good in Lukang, Taiwan. Beyond Globalization and Secularization Prof. Robert P. Weller Chairman, Department of Anthropology, Boston University, USA Buddhists, Christians, and even local god temples have become far more active in creating public goods in Taiwan than they were just a few decades ago. They build hospitals and schools, provide food and cash for the poor, offer scholarships for students, and respond to humanitarian disasters. Looking at Lukang over the past century, this paper shows the important influence of the globalization of Western ideas of religious charity in the 19th century and of non-governmental welfare activity more recently. It also recognizes the way that states strongly committed to a secularized vision of modernity limited such roles for religious groups in Taiwan. Nevertheless, the rapid changes of the last several decades show that the global influence really only took hold after being significantly reworked (and then reglobalized) by local religions, and that the secularizing isolation of religion from the broader social sphere was only a relatively brief exception to a broader pattern of religious social activity. 9