Religiously Inspired Charitable Organizations (RICOs) and Their Quest for Religious Authority and Recognition in Contemporary China

This article looks at the recent re-emergence of religiously inspired charitable organizations (RICOs) within Chinese society. Operating in an emergent religious marketplace, within a recently rehabilitated charitable sector, RICOs occupy a liminal position juxtaposed between the religious and secul...

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Autore principale: Fielder, Caroline (Autore)
Tipo di documento: Elettronico Articolo
Lingua:Inglese
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Pubblicazione: Nanzan Univ. 2019
In: Asian ethnology
Anno: 2019, Volume: 78, Fascicolo: 1, Pagine: 75-100
Accesso online: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
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Riepilogo:This article looks at the recent re-emergence of religiously inspired charitable organizations (RICOs) within Chinese society. Operating in an emergent religious marketplace, within a recently rehabilitated charitable sector, RICOs occupy a liminal position juxtaposed between the religious and secular. This article explores the ways in which the “Home” (a Buddhist RICO based in southwest China) and the “Center” (a Catholic RICO based in northeast China) make use of the ambiguity this provides to take on the role of what Hakan Yavuz calls “opportunity spaces,” operating as “social sites and vehicles for activism and the dissemination of meaning, identity, and cultural codes” (Yavuz 2003, ix) within wider society. Specifically, this article explores the ways that they draw on the material—objects, space, the body, and sensory perception—as a means of identity formation and in asserting religious authority in their quest to gain recognition in contemporary Chinese society.
Comprende:Enthalten in: Asian ethnology