Folk, Popular, or Minjian Religion?
Open accessAbstract
"Folk, Popular, or Minjian Religion?" published on 12 Dec 2019 by Brill.
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1 of 9 cited sources checked · 1 supported · 0 flagged
- Interpretationnone given§ Abstract
The issue's case studies of popular religion all express a common cosmology tied to the long historical formation of state and religion in China.
“All of these different forms of popular religion are expressions of a common cosmology that is intimately tied to the historical formation of state and religion over more than two thousand years of Chinese history.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Premisecitation§ Palmer review of religion and chinese society
By the nineteenth century, the European folk and non-Western primitives became subjects for exploring authentic or organic community distinct from modern industrial society, as in Tönnies's Gemeinschaft/Gesellschaft distinction.
“By the nineteenth century, the “folk” in Europe and the “primitives” abroad had become subjects for exploring an authentic or organic form of community, distinct from the increasingly rationalized, bureaucratic, and differentiated modern industrial society”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites Tönnies 2001 source
- Premisenone given§ Palmer review of religion and chinese society
These terms trace back to Vico and Herder, who saw the populari or Volk as prime movers of history rather than Enlightenment abstract rationality.
“The terms trace their ancestry to the work of the Italian philosopher Giovanni Battista Vico (1668-1744) and the German thinker Johann Gottfried Herder (1744-1803), both of whom advocated a view of the populari or the Volk as the prime movers of history rather than the abstract rationality of the Enlightenment.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Interpretationcitation§ Palmer review of religion and chinese society
Yin-yang or ling/sheng forms of religion usually combine in a single festival.
“But these yin and yang-or, as Ken Dean (1998) puts it, ling 靈 and sheng 聖 -forms of religion, will usually combine in a single festival.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites Dean 1998 source
- Classified as probably not a substantial claim. 15
- May combine two claims. 9
Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).
Premisecitation§ Palmer review of religion and chinese societyMayfair Yang and Oostveen, drawing on Deleuze and Guattari, theorized minjian as rhizomatic in contrast to the arborescent structure of formal institutions.
“Mayfair Yang (1994) and Daan F. Oostveen (2019), drawing on Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari (1987), have theorized about the “rhizomatic” nature of minjian, in contrast to the “arborescent” structure of formal institutions.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim1 of 3 sources checked- cites Mayfair Yang (1994)
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
- cites Oostveen (2019) source
- cites Deleuze and Guattari (1987)
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.
Premisecitation§ Palmer review of religion and chinese societyFolk religion and popular religion have long genealogies in Western intellectual history and have been debated over decades.
“As it happens, “folk religion” and “popular religion” are notions with long genealogies in Western intellectual history and have been debated now and then over the decades (Bock 1966;Yoder 1974;Primiano 1985;Kapaló 2013).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites Bock 1966;Yoder 1974;Primiano 1985;Kapaló 2013
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable).
Interpretationreasoning§ Palmer review of religion and chinese societyPopular religion is a context-dependent category; a county deity cult may be popular relative to the central state but orthodox relative to local female spirit mediums.
“And seen in such a light, “popular religion” is a category defined only by context: a county deity cult patronized by local elites might be “popular” in relation to the central state, but “orthodox” in relation to local female spiritmediums.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimClassified as probably not a substantial claim. May combine two claims.
Interpretationcitation§ Palmer review of religion and chinese societyLong's definitions can be applied to China, but each dichotomy they use involves dynamic interaction between higher and lower, center and periphery, orthodox and heterodox, with no fixed boundaries and constant exchange.
“Any of the above definitions can easily be applied in China-although the scholar of Chinese society would be quick to point out that each of the dichotomies listed above represents a dynamic interaction between the higher and lower, the center and the periphery, the orthodox and the heterodox, between which there are no fixed boundaries and in which there is a constant exchange and circulation of”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claimClassified as probably not a substantial claim.
Interpretationnone given§ Palmer review of religion and chinese societyMinjian evokes horizontal relationships among people within the interstices of hierarchical structures.
“Minjian evokes specifically the horizontal relationships between people within the interstices of a hierarchical structure.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claimProbably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.
Premisecitation§ Palmer review of religion and chinese societySebastian Veg notes that minjian derives its meaning from the historical min/guan dichotomy and in the contemporary PRC is associated with what is outside the official work-unit system.
“Writing about contemporary China, Sebastian Veg (2019:7-8) notes that “the term minjian takes its meaning from the historical dichotomy of min (people) and guan (officials)”; thus, in the contemporary Peoples’ Republic, it is associated with what is “outside the system” (tizhi wai 體制外) of official work units.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites Veg 2019:7-8
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
Classified as probably not a substantial claim. May combine two claims.
Interpretationreasoning§ Palmer review of religion and chinese societyMinjian networks are not defined by an organic community outside or opposed to instrumental structures; they can be loose, open-ended, aggregate, fissure, organize, dissipate, and traverse, bypass, shortcut, subvert, or strengthen hierarchical structures.
“Nor are they defined by notions of an organic community that is outside of or opposed to instrumental structures: minjian networks can be loose and open-ended, they can aggregate, they can fissure, they can organize and they can dissipate; they can traverse, bypass, shortcut, subvert, or strengthen hierarchical structures.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claimProbably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).
Premisecitation§ Palmer review of religion and chinese societyCharles Long's article lists seven conceptualizations of popular religion.
“This tension is expressed in the many different subsequent conceptualizations of folk or popular religion, of which Charles Long, in a very useful summative article (1987), lists seven:”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites Long 1987
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
Classified as probably not a substantial claim.
Interpretationreasoning§ Palmer review of religion and chinese societyThe genealogy of folk or popular religion as religious expression of folk culture is inherently in tension with the genealogy of religion as an independent institution.
“And thus, the genealogy of the concepts of “folk religion” or “popular religion,” understood as the religious expression of folk culture, is inherently in tension with the genealogy of the concept of “religion” as an independent institution.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claimClassified as probably not a substantial claim. May combine two claims.
Interpretationreasoning§ Palmer review of religion and chinese societyElite intellectuals, peasants, middle-class consumers, and migrant laborers can all become part of minjian networks.
“Elite intellectuals as well as peasants, middle-class consumers as well as migrant laborers, can all become part of minjian networks.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claimProbably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.
Interpretationcitation§ Palmer review of religion and chinese societyMost of Long's definitions identify popular religion with lower or marginal positions in hierarchies of power and knowledge, while the seventh treats it as elite knowledge production about the people.
“Most statements in this list posit the existence of a cultural field in which “popular religion” is identified with the lower or marginal positions in a hierarchy of power and knowledge, while the seventh definition argues that popular religion itself is the knowledge production of those at the top of the cultural field, looking downwards at the “people” and organizing, classifying, and inscribing”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimProbably not a substantial claim: may not pass S4 (based). May combine two claims.
Interpretationreasoning§ Palmer review of religion and chinese societyIn the religious sphere, minjian networks are not exclusively derived from indigenous Chinese cosmologies and traditions; there are many Christian and other networks in the minjian.
“In the religious sphere, using this definition, they are not exclusively derived from indigenous Chinese cosmologies and traditions: there are many Christian and other networks in the minjian.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimProbably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable). May combine two claims.
Interpretationcitation§ Palmer review of religion and chinese societyMinjian has a sociological meaning not tied to popular/elite dichotomies; minjian relations can occur between people at any location in the social system and are not necessarily defined by rurality, orality, ethnicity, gender, or poverty.
“Minjian suggests a sociological meaning that is not tied to the dichotomies between popular and elite: where the vertical grid of political and institutional organization covers the entire society from the center to the periphery and from top to bottom, minjian relations can take place between people at any location within the social system; they are not necessarily defined by rurality, orality,”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimMay combine two claims.
Interpretationnone given§ Palmer review of religion and chinese societyThe academic study of Chinese popular religion has developed mainly in dialogue with dominant intellectual discourses in and about China, with little reference to scholarship on other parts of the world.
“But the opening of this academic field has taken place primarily in conversation with dominant intellectual discourses in and about China, without much reference to scholarship about the rest of the world.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimProbably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S3 (load-bearing), S4 (based).
Interpretationreasoning§ Palmer review of religion and chinese societyMinjian networks are perhaps the inevitable shadow and corollary to authoritarian structures of Chinese society, both in dynastic times and today.
“They are perhaps the inevitable shadow and corollary to the authoritarian structures of Chinese society, both in dynastic times and today.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimProbably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).
Interpretationcitation§ Palmer review of religion and chinese societyThe relation between popular and orthodox religion can be described as a yin-yang dyad, with popular as yin and orthodox as yang, each opposed yet dependent and complementary.
“The tension between the two may be described in the manner of a yin-yang dyad, with the “popular” being the yin to the “orthodox” yang-the more obscure, chaotic, ecstatic, localized, dispersed, marginal, feminine, and embodied religion, in contrast to the more public, ordered, central, masculine, civil, and government-oriented religion; each is always simultaneously opposed to but dependent and”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites Palmer and Tse forthcoming
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
The paper relies on this without support.
The terms folk religion, popular religion, and minjian religion are all problematic for naming the type of religion under discussion.
“Scholars in the field know that all of these terms are problematic, and few would bother arguing about how to name a type of religion that is precisely nameless.”
The paper relies on this without support.
The type of religion under discussion is precisely nameless.
“Scholars in the field know that all of these terms are problematic, and few would bother arguing about how to name a type of religion that is precisely nameless.”
The paper relies on this without support.
In the sociology of religion, folk religion is preferred, while in Chinese religion research, popular religion is widely used.
“in the sociology of religion, the term “folk religion” is preferred, while in the field of research on Chinese religion, in which historians and anthropologists are predominant, the term “popular religion” enjoys broad currency.”
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.
Primiano citation year conflicts with the reference list
MinorThe text cites Primiano as a 1985 work, but the reference list dates the listed Primiano work to 1995.
“(Bock 1966;Yoder 1974;Primiano 1985;Kapaló 2013).”
“9. Primiano, Leonard Norman. 1995. "Vernacular Religion and the Search for Method in Religious Folklife." Western Folklore 54 (1): 37-56.”
Cites
A Thousand Plateaus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia
Gilman, S. L., Deleuze, G., Guattari, F., & Massumi, B. (1989) · The Journal of Interdisciplinary History · doi:10.2307/203963 · Cited by 22,651 · see citing works
Gifts, favors, and banquets: the art of social relationships in China
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Gifts, Favors, and Banquets: The Art of Social Relationships in China.
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(2001) · Ferdinand Tönnies Community and Civil Society · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511816260.006 · Cited by 878 · see citing works
The Religious Question in Modern China
Goossaert, V., & Palmer, D. A. (2011) · doi:10.7208/chicago/9780226304182.001.0001 · Cited by 750 · see citing works
Self-citationYang, C. K. (1961) · doi:10.1525/9780520318380 · Cited by 521 · see citing works
Vernacular Religion and the Search for Method in Religious Folklife
Primiano, L. N. (1995) · Western Folklore · doi:10.2307/1499910 · Cited by 356 · see citing works
Mapping Chinese Folk Religion in Mainland China and Taiwan
Yang, F., & Hu, A. (2012) · Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion · doi:10.1111/j.1468-5906.2012.01660.x · Cited by 215 · see citing works
Lord of the Three in One: The Spread of a Cult in Southeast China
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Toward a Definition of Folk Religion
Yoder, D. (1974) · Western Folklore · doi:10.2307/1498248 · Cited by 113 · see citing works
Veg, S. (2019) · Columbia University Press eBooks · doi:10.7312/veg-19140 · Cited by 76
Lee, R. H., & Yang, C. K. (1962) · Review of Religious Research · doi:10.2307/3509867 · Cited by 59 · see citing works
The Religious Question in Modern China
(2012) · doi:10.1093/socrel/srs036 · Cited by 50 · see citing works
Religious Belonging in the East Asian Context: An Exploration of Rhizomatic Belonging
Oostveen, D. F. (2019) · Religions · doi:10.3390/rel10030182 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
Folk Religion in Discourse and Practice
(2013) · Cited by 27 · see citing works
Folk Religion in Discourse and Practice
Kapaló, J. (2013) · doi:10.1163/ej.9789004197992.i-352.10 · Cited by 24
Minjian: the Rise of China’s Grassroots Intellectuals
Yi, G. (2020) · The Chinese Historical Review · doi:10.1080/1547402x.2020.1788871 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Symbols in Conflict: Official versus Folk Religion
(1966) · doi:10.2307/1384846 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Minjian: The Rise of China’s Grassroots Intellectuals
(2019) · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
1 of the 20 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Understanding Folk Religiosity in the Philippines
Macaranas, J. R. G. (2021) · Religions · doi:10.3390/rel12100800 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
“Long’s definition of popular religion, as cited by Dawson (2001) and Palmer (2019), also approximate the diverse forms of folk religiosity that I will be discussing, specifically definitions 3, 4, 5, 6: (3) the pervasive beliefs, rituals, and values of a society, a kind of civil religion of the…”
BackgroundHybridising Minjian Religion in South China: Participants, Rituals, and Architecture
Guo, H., Wang, C., Nie, Y., & Tang, X. (2022) · Religions · doi:10.3390/rel13050384 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
“Common English translations are “folk religion” or “popular religion”, but “minjian” does not imply the inherent tension between folk/popular religion and elite religion present in Western intellectual history (Palmer 2019).”
BackgroundResultInfluentialChi, S., & Liu, C. (2024) · Humanities and Social Sciences Communications · doi:10.1057/s41599-024-02977-8 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
“…a new paradigm to examine the concrete situation of Chinese religious practice, such as the modalities of practicing religion and the recategorization of religious terms, as religious pluralism in China cannot be explained by monotheistic models or institutional religions (Chau 2011; Palmer 2019).”
Taylor, J. (2024) · Sophia · doi:10.1007/s11841-024-01011-3 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
“…is, as a religion of laity and of local village–based monasticism ( wat baan ); a foundation on orality and vernacular literate forms, and as an ‘ideological creation of elites, promoted through folklore societies, muse-ums, historical and ethnographic research, and so on’ (Palmer, 2019, p. 157).”
Declining of Chinese popular religion in the totalitarian era: the case of <i>nuo</i>
Li, L. (2021) · Culture and Religion · doi:10.1080/14755610.2023.2260016
- Authors
- Palmer, D. A.
- Affiliations
- University of Hong Kong (HK)
- Corresponding author
- Palmer, David A.
- ORCID
- Palmer, David A.
- Venue
- Review of Religion and Chinese Society
- Publisher
- Walter de Gruyter GmbH
- Published
- 2019-12-12
- Volume
- 6
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 155-159
- ISSN
- 2214-3947 (ISSN-L)
- 2214-3955
- OpenAlex
- W2995142570
- Cited by
- 7
- References
- 20
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2024: 3 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 2
- FWCI
- 1.49
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Review of Religion and Chinese Society (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Chinese history and philosophy
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Philosophy › Religious Studies and Spiritual Practices
- Social Sciences › Anthropology › Eurasian Exchange Networks
- Keywords
- folk religion, Chinese religion, spirit mediums, funeral rites, Ghost Festival, cosmology, church-state relations, Marcel Granet
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