Research On The Influence Of Rural Religion On Rural Governance In The Period Of Social Transformation

Rural Religion is an important part in rural social culture and an indispensable governing body in multiple governance of rural society.Religions have experienced ups and downs along with the change of social contexts in the modernization process:the dominant role of the Confucianism after the integration of the Confucianism,Buddhism and Taoism at the beginning,forcible entry of western religions then,democratic reform of religions in early stage of New China,disasters during the Cultural revolution,and revival and development of Rural Religions in the easing social contexts after the reform and opening up.Revival and development of Rural Religions are attributed to multiple internal and external factors.External factors including re—adoption of policies on freedom in religious belief by the Party and governments,rapid economic growth in rural areas,weakening of cultural functions of grass—roots governments and change in attitudes towards religions in rural areas are much supportive.More importantly,religions have social values and functions,which meet the development demand in rural areas for now.Value generation function of Rural Religions offers value pursuit and inadequate public cultural products for believers,thus meeting mental and psychological needs of believers at different levels.Order construction function of Rural Religions provides action basis for collapsing rural order with morality and helps harmonize interpersonal relations.Economic function of Rural Religions helps promote economic development and public undertakings.Political function of Rural Religions facilitates the transformation of villagers into modern civilians and keeps rural society stable.On the other hand,Rural Religion may hinder governance.For instance,contradictions between some religious values and mainstream social values may lead to negative philosophy in believers and even prevent the promotion of scientific knowledge to some extent.The disorder,such as religious mass disturbance and the penetration of heresies,of Rural Religion harms social stability.As one form of culture,religions may lead to cultural conflicts,including those between different Rural Religions and those between religion and other forms of culture.Rural Religions weaken the authoritativeness of grass—roots governments,resulting in conflicts between religious forces and grass—roots governments.Therefore,we should properly deal with negative impacts of Rural Religions from multiple perspectives.Feasible measures include vigorously promoting economic development to raise scientific awareness of farmers,promoting policies on freedom of religious belief to guide religious organizations,offering better public services to make grass—roots governments more authoritative,guiding rural religious organizations to play positive roles,and properly dealing with conflicts between Rural Religions and governments.