Falun Gong and the Sectarian Religion Paradigm

Abstract

The sectarian paradigm places newly formed religious groups not sanctioned by the state into a category of sectarian (jiaopai). In imperial times such groups were treated as heterodox and banned officially. They nevertheless traditionally survived well in the margins of society, in provincial centers, or allied with newlyascendant social groups. This paper discusses Falun Gong in light of this paradigm. Falun Gong is compared with two other religious groups that to some extent also reflect the sectarian paradigm, Three in One and Yiguandao. The paper first introduces each group's history, then focuses on ideology as contained in doctrinal statements and writings. The sectarian model is found to be inadequate in analyzing newly arisen popular religions and trends in contemporary China. There are no apparent genetic links between many such groups, and ideas do not consistently overlap. The paper proposes an alternative model of new syncretic movements. This model looks beyond the adversarial stances implied by the sectarian rubric.

Doing Ideology Amid a Crisis

“…While most studies have been concerned with the political economy of China and the FLG's relation to the state (e.g., Leung 2002;Madsen 2000;Rahn 2002;Tong 2009;Wong 1999), others have focused on its religious aspects (e.g., Chan 2004;Irons 2003;Lu 2005;Palmer 2003;Palmer 2007). These studies have provided valuable insight into the emergence of the FLG and the causes of the crackdown.…”

“…The CCP’s heavy-handed suppression and the FLG’s daring struggle inspired a burgeoning literature on this Chinese new religious movement (Chen 2000; Lowe 2003; Ownby 2005, 2008; Thornton 2002). While most studies have been concerned with the political economy of China and the FLG’s relation to the state (e.g., Leung 2002; Madsen 2000; Rahn 2002; Tong 2009; Wong 1999), others have focused on its religious aspects (e.g., Chan 2004; Irons 2003; Lu 2005; Palmer 2003; Palmer 2007). These studies have provided valuable insight into the emergence of the FLG and the causes of the crackdown.…”

Use of Falun Gong to Address Traumatic Stress among Marginalized Clients

“…Most non-Falun Gong writers concurred that Falun Gong is a form of qigong [46,[48][49][50][51] or a Buddhist qigong system [52]. Other expressions used to describe Falun include traditional Chinese religious practice, or revival of traditional Chinese spiritual practice [49,[53][54][55][56], or as a new religious movement [57][58][59][60]. Gale and Gorman-Yao [61] described Falun Gong as a cultural movement, while Ackerman [62] referred to the practice as a New Age spiritual movement.…”

Introduction

“…For many scholars, a major issue was whether the terminology of 'sectarian' religions contributed to reinforce the attitudes of the state against the religions it does not recognize. Although most scholars using that terminology do not condone the state policy against 'evil sects', some have felt compelled to argue against using that terminology lest political authorities use it against adherents of smaller religions: they took issue with the inconsistencies and vagueness of the concept (Irons 2003). Two important outcomes of that critique is that many scholars of religion have encouraged a greater skepticism about governments' use of the label 'sectarians' (Ownby 2008a;Zhu 2010), and the creation of new analytical category, known as 'redemptive societies', to describe religious movements that have appeared in the Republican period, as benevolent actors because of their philanthropy and advocacy of non-violence (Duara 2004).…”