试析中国语境中的“宗教世俗化”概念—以净土信仰的流变为例

A Brief Analysis of the Concept of “Religious Secularization” in the Chinese Context: Taking the Pure Land Belief as an Example

The concept of “religious secularization” was first proposed by Western scholars to describe the changes in the status of religion in the overall social structure in the process of modernization. The concept of “religious secularization” in the Western context focuses on the separation of the religious sphere from the secular sphere, highlighting the separation of religion from secular life and the weakening of the social influence of religion. However, the meaning of “religious secularization” has different tendencencies in different societies. In the Chinese context, the understanding of “religious secularization” is not based on describing the separation of religion and secularity, and many Chinese researchers are more inclined to describe the process of sinking religion to the secular level as “religious secularization”. By considering the popularization of religious doctrines, the simplification of religious rituals, and the folk transformation of the group structure of believers as the “secularization” of the religious field, Chinese researchers have constructed their own concept of “religious secularization” and applied it to specific research. This paper will take the development of Pure Land belief as an example, and analyze the development trend of Pure Land belief in religious doctrines, religious rituals, and believer groups according to Chinese researchers, showing the difference in the concept of “religious secularization” in Chinese and Western contexts.

西方学界最早提出“宗教世俗化”概念，用以描述现代化进程下，宗教在整体社会结构中的地位变动情况。西方语境中的“宗教世俗化”概念侧重于形容宗教领域与世俗领域的脱钩，突出宗教与世俗生活的分离以及宗教社会影响力的衰弱。然而“宗教世俗化”在不同文明的语境中，理解侧重点不一样。在中国语境下，对于“宗教世俗化”的理解并非建立在描述宗教与世俗相分离的基础上，不少相关领域研究者更倾向于将宗教向世俗层面的下沉过程描述为“宗教世俗化”。通过将宗教教义的通俗化，宗教仪轨的简约化，信众群体结构的大众化等趋势视作宗教领域的“世俗化”，中国研究者构建了属于自己的“宗教世俗化”概念并应用于具体研究当中。本文将以净土信仰的流变为例，通过分析相关领域研究者笔下，净土信仰在宗教教义、宗教仪轨、信众群体的发展趋向，展现出中西方语境中“宗教世俗化”概念的不同。