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' - 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.

Key words: Religious revival in rural China, religious market theory, elites and religion, gift model