Divine Contracts: Chinese New Religions and Shamanic Movements in Contemporary Malaysia

Angelic Belief as American Folk Religion1

“…Folk religion differs by being only loosely coupled with most formal religious doctrines, as it is primarily communicated and maintained informally among believers as they apply cognitive religious schema to experience (Bowman, 2004). 4 Folk religion is syncretistic, unsystematic, informal, and largely anecdotal (Ackerman, 2001;Hay and Morisy, 1985;Kaneko, 1990;Trachtenberg, 2004;Williams, 1980). It typically involves the intervention of miraculous phenomena in daily life, as in cases of illness, bereavement, and other personal tragedies for which a society's major institutions fail to provide satisfactory solutions (Wuthnow, 1987).…”

“…Much like the beliefs and practices that it aims to circumscribe, the concept of folk religion is flexible and unstandardized. It is often used to describe popular religious practices of people in various world cultures, especially in the East, who in a syncretistic manner fuse together features of different religious traditions (e.g., Ackerman, 2001; Harrell, 1977; Law, 2005; Zhuo, 2003). It has also been used to describe leftover, “primitive” belief systems, either academically (Houk, 1996) or ethnocentrically (Hiebert et al, 1999).…”

“…Folk religion is syncretistic, unsystematic, informal, and largely anecdotal (Ackerman, 2001; Hay and Morisy, 1985; Kaneko, 1990; Trachtenberg, 2004; Williams, 1980). It typically involves the intervention of miraculous phenomena in daily life, as in cases of illness, bereavement, and other personal tragedies for which a society’s major institutions fail to provide satisfactory solutions (Wuthnow, 1987).…”

In pursuit of capital: The charismatic turn among the Chinese managerial and professional class in Malaysia

“…It seems that, with the increasing integration of the ethnic Chinese in the Malaysian nation state and the decline of Western control of Christian churches, Chinese religiosity becomes more and more indigenized in Malaysia (Lee & Ackerman, 1997, p. 114). Similar developments have been noted in Buddhism, where shamanistic practices have merged as new cults sponsored by Chinese business people (Ackerman, 2001). As a consequence, the outer expression of religious experiences and emotions takes on forms that have not been part of traditional practices.…”

Transcendence and tolerance: Cultural diversity in the tamil celebration of taipūcam in Penang, Malaysia

“…Despite the small size of the Indian community on the island of Penang and the proliferation of religious alternatives in Malaysia for the Chinese (Ackerman 2001;Ackerman and Lee 1990;Cheu 1992), Taip0cam is a major event in the main town of Georgetown, and it is attracting increasing numbers of Chinese. Many Chinese also attend Hindu temples throughout the year, simply including this within their specifically Chinese religious framework (see Ackerman and Lee 1990) and making little effort to access Hindu teachings or other practices.…”