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Most modern states have policies for the management of religion. For those with diverse religious communities, how to ensure the peaceful coexistence of the various religions becomes an important challenge for governments. Hence, modern secular states often delineate a proper “domain” for religion in society in order to properly regulate it. In response, religious groups, many transnational in nature, can adopt various strategies to respond to state regulation, ranging from resistance, to accommodation, to acceptance. This paper examines how, in its negotiations with state-imposed restrictions, the Yiguan Dao – a transnational Chinese syncretic sect that has experienced phenomenal growth in Asia and beyond – has chosen not to identify itself publicly as a “religion”, but rather adopts a more “secular” identity in its official dealings with the public and the state by emphasising its “cultural” and “scientific” aspects. Further, the sect utilises the practice of religious territoriality to transform officially secular residential properties into the sacred sites of temples in order to circumvent state restrictions on religious buildings. This paper demonstrates how a religious movement can undergo organisational change and adopt innovative territorial practices, and manage to flourish in the face of state regulations as well as the negative views of other, more “orthodox”, religions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The relationship between religion and educational ideals in Taiwan is explored using the Taiwan Social Change Survey (1990, 1995, 2000, and 2005). Religion seems to influence the overall level of educational ideals. Both before and after controls, Taiwanese Protestants have the highest educational ideals for both boys and girls; the nonreligious have the second highest ideals. Members of the new religious movement Yi-Guan-Dao and Catholics have the lowest ideals, while folk religionists/Taoists and Buddhists are in the middle and not significantly different from each other. We discuss possible mechanisms of influence and how our findings speak to the available literature on religion and education in the United States and elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Song Guangyu was among the first Chinese scholars to study Chinese redemptive societies from a cultural and religious perspective. As part of his research, he joined the Yiguandao and carried out fieldwork, providing insights into beliefs and rituals largely inaccessible to nonmembers. He ultimately came to defend the Yiguandao and other redemptive societies as having defended traditional Chinese culture against the aggressive campaigns of westernization which have marked much of Chinese politics during the twentieth century. In the excerpts from his book The Heavenly Way Transmits the Light, Song reflects on the origin of his scholarly quest and provides an overview of his neotraditional reinterpretation of modern Chinese culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article uses the example of the growth of the Yiguandao in Singapore to explore the mutual relationships between religion, commercial activity, and the cultural identity of local Chinese society.There has been much dispute over the nature of the Yiguandao, and both the Nationalist and Communist governments have outlawed its activities. Consequently, the Yiguandao sought out opportunities for development in the Chinese diaspora. After thirty years of efforts they have made impressive gains. The Yiguandao is established in thirty-eight countries, particularly in Southeast Asia. All branches of the Yiguandao are active in Singapore, the Baoguang-Jiande branch being the most successful. This branch set up a factory in Singapore some twenty years ago [in the mid-1970s], as part of a long-term development plan. After encountering all sorts of difficulties, an unexpected rise in the price of the commodity the factory produced reversed their declining fortunes and also launched the religion on a rapid upward course. At the same time, the Singapore government was promoting traditional Chinese culture in an effort to strengthen the spiritual life of the Singapore people. The activities of the Yiguandao fit in perfectly with the government campaign. Consequently, religious development, commercial activities, and cultural identity all came together, providing a case study of the development of Chinese popular religion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The anti-Unity Sect campaign (1949-53), a precursor to the Campaign to Suppress Counterrevolutionaries (the zhenfan movement), was one of the Chinese Communists' most violent policies to root out a perceived evil cult in China. This article argues that the drive was never simply a religious crusade. It was essentially a mass mobilization for the purpose of consolidating the Communists' power and legitimacy. Through a host of propaganda channels, including media attacks and public trials, the Communists dealt a crippling blow to the sect. The mobilization campaign turned many citizens into supporters and agents of the government, and its tactics would soon be mimicked in subsequent political movements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theories about the sect-to-church transition focus on changes in the social characteristics of members, or changes in the size and prosperity of the organization, to account for the transition. However, the state may also affect the likelihood of a sect-to-church transition. Under conditions of state repression, sects are likely to be more schismatic. State repression can also strengthen sectarianism by preventing the orderly succession of leaders and the emergence of professionalized and educated priesthood. We illustrate with the case of Yiguan Dao in China. This sect exhibited sectarian features under state repression, and the late 1980s when the sect was legalized in Taiwan. Thereafter, the various branches of the sect have introduced a series of changes designed to reduce schisms, formalize the succession of leadership, professionalize sectarian leaders and elaborate doctrines. These developments cannot be comprehended theoretically without some revisions to theories of sect-to-church changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]