A Temple and its Functions as an Independent Social Life Centre and an Analogy to Civil Society

Religious life in Taiwan has experienced a great revival since the political relaxation in 1980's; especially the popular religion and new religious movements have been blooming. Temple festivals are growing again; restored or newly established events organized by temples emerge. There is usually one main deity in the centre of the temple cult, but there are many other deities worshipped in a particular temple as well. The temple is often a centre of a town or a village, especially in the countryside. Temples organize or at least support many activities (not only religious ones, but also sport and educational activities etc.) in villages and towns. The thesis introduces temples and their work in the field of belief. At the same time it looks at the ways a temple help people to create a local community, and what is the relationship between the state and temple cults. There is an attempt to see the potential of traditional temple religions to fulfil function similar to function of modern civil society. The thesis also introduces the development of the status of temple cults in Taiwan on the background of political and social changes during the 20th and at the beginning of the 21st century. During this period, the popular religion gradually transforms from a superstition that should be annihilated..