The Social Mechanism To Constitute Church Centered On Witchcraft

This thesis focuses on the social mechanism to constitute church based on a specific case study. The object is called the Cunxin Charity, an unofficial association aiming to aid the needy (e.g. the poor, the disabled and the orphan). Famous for its time-honored history, it transforms from the Cunxin Charity Hall, a complete private group based on religion, to a registered and government-approved social organization. Following conventions formed in the Qing dynasty, it centers on social charity and assistance, gradually covering almost every part of the society.The Cunxin Charity utilizes historical inheritance and new-type charity as its development strategy. By registering officially, it gains administerial legality and turns into a social organization with independent legal entity. Now, it has enrolled more than 50,000 members and made rules to conduct regular assistance and coping method to deal with emergencies. All these actions help to maintain its dominant status in the field of social charity.However, the Cunxin Charity Hall originated from the worship of a deity called Dafeng (the great peak) Patriarch and carried on his good deeds. Without doubt, the religious belief can consolidate the charity hall by offering steady believers and enhancing cohesion through rituals. Although Dafeng Patriarch can be attributed to Buddhism, it also has the remains of witchcraft (i.e. planchette writing). That’s why the Cunxin Charity is regarded as a modern social organization centered on religion, especially sorcery. Emile Durkheim, the founder of sociology of religion, once alleged that moral community or church cannot be formed centered on witchcraft and its practices. The writing purpose of this thesis is to discuss related theories and detect the social mechanism to form such an organization based on witchcraft.