Clan、Faith And Community Integration

The Christian family clan in the paper refers to a special family clan with more than 90% of its population being Christian and having had Christian faith for over four generations.The most obvious difference between a Christian family and a non-Christian family is the Christian culture and behavioral taboos,which pose direct conflict with traditional religions.For a Christian family,the Christian culture has been integrated into their lives,becoming their obvious cultural characteristics.And the social interaction and integration between the two faith groups and resulting construction of a common community life under the background of the same blood and clan have become a topic worthy of study.This paper explores this issue,focusing on a case study of the social relations and interactions between the Christian families and the Non-Christian villagers of a Sh’e Village in Ding Tan,Southern Fujian Province.Based on adequate first-hand information gathered through field research and interviews,we have studied the social relations and interaction of these groups of the same patriarchal clan with different religious faiths,applying the theories in sociology,history study,religious study and so on,through deductive and analytical method.Our study presents a real picture of the religious faiths and practices of the village people,mainly including the Pan Hu Totem belief and idol worship of non-Christian villagers and the faith of Christian villagers.The two faith groups experienced “informal” conflicts during the time around the foundation of New China,while now they live in harmony with each other.A close look at this change brings up our questions: What makes the Christians villagers well accepted by their non-Christian clansmen,with apparent tension due to religious differences? What factors help break down the barriers and build mutual acceptance and respect? Our research has found that the implementation of the policy of religious freedom by the government,the secularization of religion in a modern era,the elitism of the Christian families and the Christian practice of “love” in Christian faith,and the recognition of the clan blood bond,all constitute a mechanism of mutual acceptance in the face of religious differences.Our study found that,the different taboo practices in different religions have caused a certain alienation of the Christian families from their clansmen.However,such religious differences,even though distinct,do not overrule their harmonious relation with each other.The two religious groups have on the other hand founded a mutually acceptable “boundary” in their daily social interactions and succeeded in achieving mutual acceptance,respect and harmony.Inadequacies being there,it is hoped our study would shed light on the interaction mechanism of social groups with varying religious beliefs.