Study On The Transition From Primitive Religions To Christianity In Minority Nationalities Of Yunnan Province

Primitive religions occupy the core of the culture of minority nationalities; and Christianity is an important component of the capitalist society. The collision and interlock of two religious states have widened the vision of religious workers. From the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century, the new religion of Christianity was widely spread in part of the remote and backward areas of minority nationalities of Yunnan Province. In decades of years after that time, there were nearly 100 thousand people of eight nationalities abandoned their original religious belief and turned to the pursuit of Christian belief. The happening of the transition of religious belief can be viewed as a "wonder" in the history of doing missionary work of Christianity in China, and has also aroused the wide attention of researchers of religion.Before turning to the belief of Christianity, believers of such minority nationalities basically lived in a society where the primitive society was splitting up and was in transition to the class society. Generally speaking, the geographical environment where they live in is very hard and poor. The productive forces are quite low, and their economic relations bear remains of primitive countryside communes system. The backwardness of the society and the dual structure of political governing have led to the continuation of primitive religions. For quite a long time in the past, a stable structure of mutual correlation and mutual dependence among economy, politics and culture of the society of such minority nationalities was formed. As a result, the society kept a development state of coordination and balance. Such a stable and harmonious social structure is the social foundation for the long existence of primitive religions of minority nationalities. In modern times, the Qing Dynasty adopted a series of transformation measures on economy and politics in order to strengthen the governing of minority nationalities. In economy, the system of land ownership of minority nationalities was changed and land was privatized. In politics, the local political governing was abolished, and the central government conducted direct governing. In culture, there was the spreading and impacts of the Christianity. Dramatic changes in social economy and political structure led to the splitting up of the original social structure and caused the loss of the religious functions. Religious belief of nationalities lost the support from economy and political structure. Looking for a new spirit life became the urgent necessity for minority nationalities. Pioneering action of Christianity for southwestern nationality regions accorded with the potential psychological awaiting of minority nationalities produced the opportunity of the transition of the religious belief. Thus a historical picture stroll of mutual conflicts and collision, adjustment and merging between a foreign culture and the nationality religious began to spread.The dramatic changes of social economy, politics and culture have bred and generated the new social organization forms and new social characteristics have also appeared. Such changes, to a certain extent, have changed the social life of minority nationalities, and also changed their religious life. The social status of minority nationalities is heightened and their nationality consciousness is gradually awakening. Powers of Christianity extended to various fields of the society and gradually took the position of social governing. Christianity became a leading force in controlling culture, education, social management, drawing up norms of social lives and moral behaviors. In this thesis, guided by the theory of historical materialism, based on social investigations and viewing from the religious sociology, efforts have been made to disclose the social mechanism of the transition of religious belief of minority nationalities in Yunnan Province. Structural function analysis methods are applied and requirements of the combination of case studies with theoretical analysis ar...