Religion and traditional values in East Asia

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Religion and traditional values in East Asia

• The relevance of generational divides in East
  Asia origin surveys

Henk Vinken Pyrrhula BV Netherlands
Jacobs Foundation Conference 2010 Schloss
Marbach, Germany 2830 April 2010
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Central themes in religious studies

• Secularization / modernization
• Individualized religions / postmodernization
• Supply side change / rational choice

Jacobs Foundation Conference 2010 Schloss
Marbach, Germany 2830 April 2010
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Concepts and research fundamentally Western
Hofstede Issues prominent in the researchers
culture but not necessarily relevant to the
respondents will be included, and issues crucial
in the respondents culture but not in the
researchers may be overlooked.
Global values surveys compare Western
values Unlikely to cover all Western core
notions, or non-Western notions of religious
values and practices
Jacobs Foundation Conference 2010 Schloss
Marbach, Germany 2830 April 2010
4
East Asian (and Western postmodern?)religious
values and practices
SyncreticismPolytheismNot one value or practice
of pinnacle importanceTranscendent and worldy
deitiesPractices without expert
mediationThis-worldy focus, including material
benefitsEmbedded in family and
bureaucracy(inseparable, e.g. respecting
ancestors, seniors, bureaucrats)
Jacobs Foundation Conference 2010 Schloss
Marbach, Germany 2830 April 2010
5
Focus today denomination in East Asian origin
and Western origin values surveys
Syncreticism would predict low proportionsBecomin
g adult in highly secularized times too? Check
proportions and generational cleavagesAB Asia
Barometer 2003AnB Asian Barometer 2001-2003EAVS
East Asian Values Survey 2002-2004WVS World
Values Survey 2000-2002ISSP Intern. Social
Survey Programme Reli. Module II 1998
Jacobs Foundation Conference 2010 Schloss
Marbach, Germany 2830 April 2010
6
The issue of wording
AB Regard yourself to belong to any particular
religion?AnBWhat is your religion?EAVSDo you
have a personal religious faith?WVSDo you
belong to a religious denomination?ISSPWhat is
your religious preference?
Jacobs Foundation Conference 2010 Schloss
Marbach, Germany 2830 April 2010
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Proportions( mentions denomination)
AB (Japan 26, China 10, S-Korea 60)AnB(Japan
47, HK 41, S-Korea 52, Mainland China 12, Taiwan
84 )EAVS(Japan 24, Beijing 9, Shanghai 19
Kunming 20, Hangzhou 20Taiwan 75, S-Korea 51,
Singapore 80) WVS(China 6, Japan 41, S-Korea 63,
Singapore 89)ISSP (Japan 33 only)
Jacobs Foundation Conference 2010 Schloss
Marbach, Germany 2830 April 2010
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Generational cleavages in denomination? Overall
the younger, the lessYet, cleavages, even if
significant, weak (Eta2 lt.05)
AB(In Japan S-Korea)(Not in China)AnB(In
Japan, HK, S-Korea,Taiwan)(Not in mainland
China)EAVS(In Japan, Shanghai, HK, Taiwan
Singapore) (Not in Beijing, Kunming, Hangzhou
S-Korea) WVS(In Japan strong, S-Korea and
Singapore)(Not in China)ISSP(In Japan strong)
Jacobs Foundation Conference 2010 Schloss
Marbach, Germany 2830 April 2010
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Other important factors?
Impact religious variables beliefs, importance,
religiosity Impact demographics generation
membership, education Impact general context
nation/city indicators Impact cultural context
traditional (Eeast Asian) values
Jacobs Foundation Conference 2010 Schloss
Marbach, Germany 2830 April 2010
10
On traditional (east Asian) valuesAfter several
factor analyses/dataset
ABDesired accomplishments of sons/daugthersfame
great scholar, power, wealth, respected
personrelatedness charitable, caring about
family, good marriage partnerAnBPreservation
loose face working women boss, hiring less
qualified relativeHarmony put personal
interests 2nd, not insist own opinion,
accommodate in conflictEAVSGender roles need
son, wife follow husband, men work outside women
inside homeRespect ancestors respect ancestors,
eldest son look after aging parentsWVSGender
roles working mother relates to child, housewife
fulfillingPiety goal is to make parents proud,
regardless faults respect parentsISSPGender
roles husband earn money wife look after home,
family suffers if women work
Jacobs Foundation Conference 2010 Schloss
Marbach, Germany 2830 April 2010
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Traditional (east Asian) valuesA matter of
culture
Country-city of origin info most
important China/Chinese cities and S-Korea most
supportive traditional valuesExcept gender
roles China less traditionalRelationship with
religious variables is weakNo virtuous
canopy?Young and higher educated least
supportiveEspecially as regards preservation
gender rolesHarmony and relatedness daughters
unaffectedUniversals?
Jacobs Foundation Conference 2010 Schloss
Marbach, Germany 2830 April 2010
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DenominationA matter of religion
Exp(B) AB AnB EAVS WVS ISSP
Step 1 religious variables Religiosity Importance Beliefs, importance, religiosity Importance, religiosity Beliefs, importance, religiosity
R2 ,12 ,06 ,61 ,50 ,35
Step 2 add cohorts and education Idem and cohort 1970 Idem and cohorts 1945-1970 1970, education Idem and education Idem and both cohorts, education Idem and both cohorts, education
R2 ,13 ,09 ,62 ,53 ,40
Step 3 add nation/city Idem and China, South Korea (SK) Idem and Hong Kong (HK), SK and Taiwan Idem, and Chinese cities, Singapore (SGP) SK and Taiwan Idem and China and SK (Japan only)
R2 ,34 ,23 ,66 ,61 -
Jacobs Foundation Conference 2010 Schloss
Marbach, Germany 2830 April 2010
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DenominationStill a matter of religion
Exp(B) AB AnB EAVS WVS ISSP
Step 3 religious variables, demogra-phics and nation/city Religiosity, cohort 1970, China, SK Importance, both cohorts, education, HK, SK, Taiwan Beliefs, importance, religiosity, cohort 1970, education, Chinese cities, SGP, SK, Taiwan Importance, religiosity, both cohorts, and China and SK Religiosity, both cohorts, education
R2 ,34 ,23 ,66 ,61 ,40
Step 4 add traditional values Idem and fame son Idem (ex HK) and preservation, harmony Idem and gender roles Idem Idem
R2 ,35 (ns) ,24 (ns) ,66 (ns) ,61 (ns) ,40 (ns)
Jacobs Foundation Conference 2010 Schloss
Marbach, Germany 2830 April 2010
14
ConclusionsDenomination a matter of religion
Especially religiosity Culture of origin
important if little known about religious
variablesGenerational information hardly adds
explanatory powerPreliminarySeeking to bring
together East Asian scholarssuggesting, debating
and testing the best measurementsWhyWould
benefit academia what is universal, particular
in key religious conceptsWould benefit publics
unaddressed concerns, responsiveness politics
Jacobs Foundation Conference 2010 Schloss
Marbach, Germany 2830 April 2010