Folk religion,traditional religion, orvernacular religion comprises, according toreligious studies andfolkloristics, various forms and expressions ofreligion that are distinct from the official doctrines and practices oforganized religion. The precise definition of folk religion varies among scholars. Sometimes also termedpopular belief, it consists ofethnic or regionalreligious customs under the umbrella of areligion; but outside officialdoctrine and practices.[1]
The term "folk religion" is generally held to encompass two related but separate subjects. The first is the religious dimension of folk culture (folklore), or the folk-cultural dimensions of religion. The second refers to the study ofreligious syncretism between two cultures with different stages of formal expression, such as the melange of African folk beliefs andRoman Catholicism that led to the development ofVodun andSantería, and similar mixtures of formal religions with folk cultures. In China, folk Protestantism had its origins with the Taiping Rebellion.[2]
Chinese folk religion, folkChristianity, folkHinduism, and folkIslam are examples of folk religion associated withmajor religions. The term is also used, especially by theclergy of the faiths involved, to describe the desire of people who otherwise infrequently attend religiousworship, do not belong to achurch or similar religious society, and who have not made a formal profession offaith in a particularcreed, to have religious weddings or funerals, or (among Christians) to have their childrenbaptised.[1]
InThe Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions,John Bowker characterized "folk religion" as either "religion which occurs in small, local communities which does not adhere to the norms of large systems" or "the appropriation of religious beliefs and practices at a popular level."[3]
Don Yoder argued that there were five separate ways of defining folk religion.[4] The first was a perspective rooted in acultural evolutionary framework which understood folk religion as representing the survivals of older forms of religion; in this, it would constitute "the survivals, in an official religious context, of beliefs and behaviour inherited from earlier stages of the culture's development".[4] This definition would view folk religion in Catholic Europe as the survivals of pre-Christian religion and the folk religion in Protestant Europe as the survivals of Medieval Catholicism.[4] The second definition identified by Yoder was the view that folk religion represented the mixture of an official religion with forms ofethnic religion; this was employed to explain the place of folk religion in the syncretic belief systems of the Americas, where Christianity had blended with the religions ofindigenous American andAfrican communities.[5]
Yoder's third definition was that often employed within folkloristics, which held that folk religion was "the interaction of belief, ritual, custom, and mythology in traditional societies", representing that which was often pejoratively characterised assuperstition.[6] The fourth definition provided by Yoder stated that folk religion represented the "folk interpretation and expression of religion". Noting that this definition would not encompass beliefs that were largely unconnected from organised religion, such as inwitchcraft, he therefore altered this definition by including the concept of "folkreligiosity", thereby defining folk religion as "the deposit in culture of folk religiosity, the full range of folk attitudes to religion".[7] His fifth and final definition represented a "practical working definition" that combined elements from these various other definitions. Thus, he summarized folk religion as "the totality of all those views and practices of religion that exist among the people apart from and alongside the strictly theological and liturgical forms of the official religion".[8]
Yoder described "folk religion" as existing "in a complex society in relation to and in tension with the organized religion(s) of that society. Its relatively unorganized character differentiates it from organized religion".[9]
Alternately, the sociologist of religionMatthias Zic Varul defined "folk religion" as "the relatively un-reflected aspect of ordinary practices and beliefs that are oriented towards, or productive of, something beyond the immediate here-and-now: everyday transcendence".[10]
Insociology, folk religion is often contrasted withelite religion. Folk religion is defined as the beliefs, practices, rituals and symbols originating from sources other than the religion's leadership. Folk religion in many instances is tolerated by the religion's leadership, although they may consider it an error.[11] A similar concept islived religion, the study of religion as practiced by believers.
The term folk religion came to be increasingly rejected in the 1990s and 2000s by scholars seeking more precise terminology.[12]
Yoder noted that one problem with the use of the term folk religion was that it did not fit into the work of those scholars who used the term "religion" in reference solely toorganized religion.[13] He highlighted the example of the prominent sociologist of religionÉmile Durkheim, who insisted that religion was organized in order to contrast it withmagic.[13] Yoder noted that scholars adopting these perspectives often preferred the term "folk belief" over "folk religion".[13]
A second problem with the use of the term folk religion that Yoder highlighted was that some scholars, particularly those operating in thesociology of religion, used the term as a synonym for ethnic religion (which is alternately known as national religion or tribal religion), meaning a religion closely tied to a particular ethnic or national group and is thus contrasted with a "universal religion" which cuts across ethnic and national boundaries.[14] Among the scholars to have adopted this use of terminology are E. Wilbur Bock.[15]
The folklorist Leonard Norman Primiano argued that the use of the term folk religion, as well as related terms like "popular religion" and "unofficial religion", by scholars, does an extreme disservice to the forms of religiosity that scholars are examining, because – in his opinion – such terms are "residualistic, [and] derogatory".[16] He argued that using such terminology implies that there is "a pure element" to religion "which is in some way transformed, even contaminated, by its exposure to human communities".[17] As a corrective, he suggested that scholars use "vernacular religion" as an alternative.[18] Defining this term, Primiano stated that "vernacular religion" is, "by definition, religion as it is lived: as human beings encounter, understand, interpret, and practice it. Since religion inherently involves interpretation, it is impossible for the religion of an individual not to be vernacular".[19]
Kapaló was critical of this approach, deeming it mistaken and arguing that switching from "folk religion" to "vernacular religion" results in the scholar "picking up a different selection of things from the world".[20] He cautioned that both terms carried an "ideological and semantic load" and warned scholars to pay attention to the associations that each word had.[21]
In Europe the study of "folk religion" emerged from the study ofreligiöse Volkskunde, a German term which was used in reference to "the religious dimension of folk-culture, or the folk-cultural dimension of religion".[22] This term was first employed by a GermanLutheran preacher,Paul Drews, in a 1901 article that he published which was titled "Religiöse Volkskunde, eine Aufgabe der praktischen Theologie". This article was designed to be read by young Lutheran preachers leaving the seminary, to equip them for the popular variants of Lutheranism that they would encounter among their congregations and which would differ from the official, doctrinal Lutheranism that they had been accustomed to.[23] Although developing within a religious environment, the term came to be adopted by German academics in the field offolkloristics.[24] During the 1920s and 1930s, theoretical studies ofreligiöse Volkskunde had been produced by the folkloristsJosef Weigert,Werner Boette, andMax Rumpf, all of whom had focused on religiosity within German peasant communities.[24] Over the coming decades,Georg Schreiber established an Institut für religiöse Volkskund inMunich while a similar department was established inSalzburg byHanns Koren.[25] Other prominent academics involved in the study of the phenomenon wereHeinrich Schauert andRudolf Kriss, the latter of whom collected one of the largest collections of folk-religious art and material culture in Europe, later housed in Munich'sBayerisches Nationalmuseum.[25] Throughout the 20th century, many studies were made of folk religion in Europe, paying particular attention to such subjects aspilgrimage and the use ofshrines.[24]
In the Americas, the study of folk religion developed amongcultural anthropologists studying the syncretistic cultures of the Caribbean and Latin America.[26] The pioneer in this field wasRobert Redfield, whose 1930 bookTepoztlán: A Mexican Village contrasted and examined the relationship between "folk religion" and "official religion" in a peasant community.[26] Yoder later noted that although the earliest known usage of the term "folk religion" in the English language was unknown, it probably developed as a translation of the GermanVolksreligion.[26] One of the earliest prominent usages of the term was in the title ofJoshua Trachtenberg's 1939 workJewish Magic and Superstition: A Study in Folk Religion.[26] The term also gained increasing usage within the academic field ofcomparative religion, appearing in the titles ofIchiro Hori'sFolk Religion in Japan,Martin Nilsson'sGreek Folk Religion, andCharles Leslie's reader, theAnthropology of Folk Religion.[26] Courses on the study of folk religion came to be taught at various universities in the United States, such asJohn Messenger's atIndiana University andDon Yoder's at theUniversity of Pennsylvania.[26]Although the subject of folk religion fell within the remit of scholars operating in both folkloristics and religious studies, by 1974 Yoder noted that U.S.-based academics in the latter continued to largely ignore it, instead focusing on the study oftheology and institutionalised religion; he contrasted this with the situation in Europe, where historians of religion had devoted much time to studying folk religiosity.[27] He also lamented that many U.S.-based folklorists also neglected the subject of religion because it did not fit within the standard genre-based system for cataloguing folklore.[28]
Chinese folk religion is one of the labels used to describe the collection ofethnic religious traditions which have historically comprised the predominant belief system inChina and amongHan Chinese ethnic groups up to the present day. The devotion includes theveneration of the dead (ancestor worship) and of forces of nature, exorcism of demonic forces, and a belief in the rational order of nature, balance in the universe and reality that can be influenced by human beings and their rulers, as well as spirits and gods. Worship is devoted to ahierarchy of gods and immortals (Chinese:神;pinyin:shén), who can bedeities of phenomena, of human behaviour, orprogenitors of lineages.Stories regarding some of these gods are collected into the body ofChinese mythology. By the 11th century (Song period), these practices had been blended withBuddhist ideas ofkarma (one's own doing) and rebirth, andTaoist teachings about hierarchies of deities, to form the popular religious system which has lasted in many ways until the present day.[29]
Chinese folk religion is sometimes categorized withTaoism, since over the centuries institutional Taoism has been attempting to assimilate or administer local religions. More accurately, Taoism emerged from and overlaps with folk religion andChinese philosophy. Chinese folk religion is sometimes seen as a constituent part of Chinese traditional religion, but more often, the two are regarded as synonymous. With around 454 million adherents, or about 6.6% of the world population,[30] Chinese folk religion is one of themajor religious traditions in the world. In the People's Republic of China, more than 30% of the population followsChinese popular religion or Taoism.[31]
Despite being heavily suppressed during the last two centuries, from theTaiping Rebellion to theCultural Revolution, it is currently experiencing a modern revival in bothMainland China andTaiwan.[32][33] Various forms have received support by theGovernment of the People's Republic of China, such asMazuism inSouthern China (officially about 160 millionChinese people are worshippers ofMazu),[34]Huangdi worship,[35][36]Black Dragon worship inShaanxi,[37][38][39] andCai Shen worship.[40]
The termShenism was first published by AJA Elliot in 1955 to describeChinese folk religion in Southeast Asia.[41]
June McDaniel (2007) classifiesHinduism into six major kinds and numerous minor kinds, in order to understand the expression of emotions among the Hindus.[42] According to McDaniel, one of the major kinds is Folk Hinduism, based on local ethnic traditions and cults of localdeities and is the oldest, non-literate system ofIndian religions.[42] Folk Hinduism involves worship of deities which are not found in Hindu scriptures. It involves worship ofGramadevata (village deity),Kuladevata (household deity) and local deities.[43] It is a folk religion,polytheist andanimistic belief based on locality. These religions have their own priests, who worship regional deities.[44]
During the 19th century, scholars had divided Hinduism andBrahmanism. Brahmanism was referred to as an intellectual, classical tradition based onSanskrit scriptures, while Hinduism was associated with superstitious folk tradition. The folk tradition refers to the aspects of the Hindu tradition that exist in tension with the Sanskritic tradition based on textual authority.[45] According toM. N. Srinivas (1976), folk Hinduism is relevant in the urban context, but it is neglected in ethnographic studies due to its negative connotations with folk (rural masses, illiterate).[46] According toChris Fuller (1994), popular Hinduism is not degenerate textual Hinduism in light of ethnographic evidence, although the category of folk Hinduism remains tenuous.[47] According toMichael Witzel (1998), the folk religion is the religion ofPrakrit speaking andDravidian speaking lower caste while theVedic Hinduism which comprisesVedas andUpanishads is the religion ofSanskrit speaking upper caste. According toAsko Parpola (2015), the folk village Hinduism is surviving frompre-rig vedic Indo-Aryan times andIndus valley culture.[48]
In one of the first major academic works on the subject,Joshua Trachtenberg, inJewish Magic and Superstition: A Study in Folk Religion, defined Jewish folk religion as consisting of ideas and practices that, whilst not meeting with the approval ofreligious leaders, enjoyed wide popularity such that they must be included in what he termed the "field of religion".[49] This included unorthodox beliefs about demons and angels and magical practices.
Later studies have emphasized the significance of the destruction of theTemple in Jerusalem to the many Jewish folk customs linked tomourning and, in particular, to the belief inhibbut ha-qever (torture of the grave): a belief that the dead are tortured in their grave for three days after burial by demons until they remember their names. This idea began with early eschatologicalaggadot (אגדות, 'legends', 'narratives') and was further developed by theKabbalists.[50]
Raphael Patai is recognized as an early adopter of anthropology in studying Jewish folk religion.[51] In particular, he was drawn to the female divine element,[52] which he noted in the goddessAsherah, theShekhinah, theMatronit, andLilith.[53]
Writer Stephen Sharot has noted that Jewish folk religion, similar to other forms of folk religion, focuses onapotropaic andthaumaturgical practices intended to protect individuals from sickness and misfortune. He highlights the distinction betweenRabbinic Judaism, which adheres to orthodox practice, life, andHalakha, and the unorthodox magical rituals practitioners employ in everyday life. An example mentioned is the relatively professionalized magician known as theBaal Shem (בַּעַל שֵׁם; pl.Baalei Shem) in Poland. Beginning in the 16th century and gaining prominence alongsidePractical Kabbalah in the 18th century,Ba'alei Shem utilized their knowledge of thenames of God and angels, along with various practices such asexorcism,chiromancy, andherbal medicine to assist individuals in achieving success in social areas like marriage and childbirth, and to bring harm to adversaries.[54]
Charles Liebman has written that the essence of the folk religion ofAmerican Jews is their social ties to one another, illustrated by the finding that religious practices that would preventsocial integration—such as a strict interpretation ofKashrut andShabbat—have been abandoned, whilst the practices that are followed—such as thePassover Seder, social rites of passage like theb'nei mitzvah, and theHigh Holy Days—are ones that strengthen Jewish family and community integration.[55] Liebman described the rituals and beliefs of contemporary Jewish folk religion in his works,The Ambivalent American Jew (1973) andAmerican Jewry: Identity and Affiliation.
Indigenous Philippine folk religions are the distinct native religions of variousethnic groups in the Philippines, where most follow belief systems in line withanimism. Generally, these indigenous folk religions are referred to asAnitism orBathalism.[56] Some of these beliefs stem from pre-Christian religions that were especially influenced byHinduism and were regarded by the Spanish as "myths" and "superstitions" in an effort to de-legitimize legitimate precolonial beliefs by forcefully replacing those native beliefs with colonial Catholic Christian myths and superstitions. Today, some of these precolonial beliefs are still held by Filipinos, especially in the provinces.
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Folk Christianity is defined differently by various scholars. Christianity as most people live it – a term used to "overcome the division of beliefs intomainstream andheterodox".[57]
Christianity as impacted by superstition as practiced by certain geographical Christian groups,[58] and Christianity defined "in cultural terms without reference to thetheologies andhistories."[59]
Folk Islam is anumbrella term used to collectively describe forms ofIslam that incorporate native folk beliefs and practices.[60] Folk Islam has been described as the Islam of the "urban poor, country people, and tribes",[61] in contrast toorthodox or "high" Islam (Gellner, 1992).[62]Sufi concepts, which are found inorthodox Islam as well, andperennialism andsyncretism are often integrated into Folk Islam.[63][64][65][66][67][68]
