Identity Politics And The Study Of Popular Religion In Postwar Taiwan

One of the most striking developments in the study of popular religion on the island of Taiwan has been the increasing emphasis on the ways in which local beliefs and practices may or may not contribute to the formation of a Taiwanese identity. Deep-seated resistance to Nationalist Party (KMT) education and cultural policies, as well as a growing interest in Taiwan’s own history and culture have prompted a growing number of Taiwanese scholars to study popular religion. 1 At the same time, however, research on Taiwanese popular religion has become enmeshed in an increasingly lively (and sometimes bitter) debate concerning the “Taiwaneseness” (or “Chineseness”) of the island’s culture. Like other debates about identity the world over, this discourse has centered less on discernible and objective distinctions between two groups of people (in this case mainland Chinese and Taiwanese) but on perceived differences often inextricable from the realm of sentiments and beliefs (Anderson 1991; Holcombe 1995). One interesting example of the impact of identity politics on Taiwan’s scholarly community has been the intense debate in 1997 about the contents of a new series of textbooks to be used in Taiwan’s middle schools entitled Getting to Know Taiwan (Renshi Taiwan) , especially the volumes on history and social studies. These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.