My chapter presents the existing research among Western and Taiwanese scholars writing in English on the relations between religion and politics in Taiwan. Its structure reflects existing debates in two distinct but interrelated phenomena: the emergence of a Taiwanese identity; and the transition to democracy. I preface the presentation of the above topics with a brief expose of the present situation as it pertains to the participation of religious actors in the politics of Taiwan, and notes the challenge of establishing a scholarship about religion and political change in Taiwanese society that is distinct from the scholarship on the relation between state and religion in China. In the section on religions and the politics of Taiwanese identity, I pay attention to the research on popular religions, highlight the scholarship about the role of the Presbyterian Church, and mention the contribution about the influence of Buddhist institutions. In the second section on the politics of democratization, I note the works on the decline of the state regulation of religion, discuss the findings on the limited influence of Confucianism, and the literature about the inconsistent attitude displayed by Christian denominations and Buddhist organizations, before concluding with the future area of research, in regards to the role of religions in philanthropy, gender issues, and alternate futures.
21 Religion and Politics
Handbook of modern Taiwan politics and society, edited by Gunther Schubert, London: Routledge, 2016
My chapter presents the existing research among Western and Taiwanese scholars writing in English on the relations between religion and politics in Taiwan. Its structure reflects existing debates in two distinct but interrelated phenomena: the emergence of a Taiwanese identity; and the transition to democracy. I preface the presentation of the above topics with a brief expose of the present situation as it pertains to the participation of religious actors in the politics of Taiwan, and notes the challenge of establishing a scholarship about religion and political change in Taiwanese society that is distinct from the scholarship on the relation between state and religion in China. In the section on religions and the politics of Taiwanese identity, I pay attention to the research on popular religions, highlight the scholarship about the role of the Presbyterian Church, and mention the contribution about the influence of Buddhist institutions. In the second section on the politics of democratization, I note the works on the decline of the state regulation of religion, discuss the findings on the limited influence of Confucianism, and the literature about the inconsistent attitude displayed by Christian denominations and Buddhist organizations, before concluding with the future area of research, in regards to the role of religions in philanthropy, gender issues, and alternate futures....Read more
