Journal of East China Normal University (Philosoph ›› 2013, Vol. 45 ›› Issue (2): 22-32.

• 宗教学研究 • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Two Concepts of Belief and Their Ideas of Power

LI Xiang-ping   

  • Online:2013-03-15 Published:2013-05-21
  • Contact: LI Xiang-ping
  • About author:LI Xiang-ping

Abstract: Although belief is related to such characteristics as ultimate, transcending and holy, it can be reduced to the construction of a certain holy relation in terms of sociological theory of belief, and based on this “a theory of belief relation” is established, which examines the types of belief practices from the perspective of the relation between god(s) and human beings. In the process of construction, people have not only constructed the forms of belief such as religious belief and folk belief, but also have participated in the construction of mainstream culture and ideology, and finally have constructed a unique field of symbol power. Different belief concepts and different belief types effectively imply different god-human relations and different forms of the construction of the holiness. In terms of the relation between belief and power, there is a distinction between politics of belief and politics of skepticism. In addition, concerning how to construct a belief in justice in modern society, a public and civil belief paradigm, which surpasses both anthropocentric belief and god-centered belief, cannot be constructed until the constitutional democracy is constructed.