1. How to Measure Religious Phenomena in China and East Asia
Liyong Dai
PhD, Associate Professor School of Sociology, Central China Normal University Confucius Institute at Carleton University, Canada

2. Gui-yuan Temple, Wuhan (武汉 • 归元寺)

3. Gui-yuan Temple, Wuhan (武汉 • 归元寺)

4. Gui-yuan Temple, Wuhan (武汉 • 归元寺)

5. Gui-yuan Temple, Wuhan (武汉 • 归元寺)

6. Gui-yuan Temple, Wuhan (武汉 • 归元寺)

7. Gui-yuan Temple, Wuhan (武汉 • 归元寺)

8. Gui-yuan Temple, Wuhan (武汉 • 归元寺)

9. Gui-yuan Temple, Wuhan (武汉 • 归元寺)

10. Gui-yuan Temple, Wuhan (武汉 • 归元寺)

11. Gui-yuan Temple, Wuhan (武汉 • 归元寺)

12. Gui-yuan Temple, Wuhan (武汉 • 归元寺)

13. Gui-yuan Temple, Wuhan (武汉 • 归元寺)

14. La-ma Temple, Beijing (北京 • 雍和宫)

15. La-ma Temple, Beijing (北京 • 雍和宫)

16. La-ma Temple, Beijing (北京 • 雍和宫)

17. Incense-pilgrim 香客

18. Incense-pilgrim 香客 The most common factor in East Asian Religions:
Across Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism, Folk Religions…
How to categorize? How to classify?
Buddhist “incense-pilgrim”
Daoism “incense-pilgrim” …
How to count, measure and calculate?

19. Chinese #1Philanthropist
Incense-pilgrim 香客
曹德旺 Cao, Dewang
Billionaire
Chinese #1Philanthropist

20. Incense-pilgrim 香客 Religious “identity”? Affiliation? Belonging?
Double belonging?
Or Partly belonging?
“Believing”: Double/multiple “Believing”?
“Believe without belonging”?
Maybe or maybe not!

21. Incense-pilgrim 香客
Believe?
Belonging? …
Just do it?

22. Incense-pilgrim 香客

23. Incense-pilgrim 香客
Chinese and East Asian cultural context: the conception of God: Polytheism, pantheism, deism …
Categories/instruments like “believe”, “affiliation”, “belonging”, “identity”, “identification”, which are more based on monotheistic ideas …

24. Incense-pilgrim 香客 Confucian ritual practitioners (儒礼的践行者)
cultural/spiritual tourist (文化/灵性旅游者)
occasional incense-pilgrims(偶然的香客)
constant incense-pilgrims(经常的香客)
lay disciples (居士 or 俗弟子)
other-worldly practitioners(出家修行者)
*sectarian believers (教门信众)
Typical Chinese Religious/Spiritual Niches

25. Population and Tension of Chinese Religions
A1: Confucian ritual practitioners
A2: Cultural/Spiritual tourist
A3: Occasional incense-pilgrims
B3: Constant incense-pilgrims
B2: Lay disciples
B1: Other-worldly Practitioners
D: Sectarian believers
Population and Tension of Chinese Religions
Tension: X2﹥X1﹥ Population: Y3﹥Y2﹥Y1﹥0

26. Hypothetical Distribution of Population and Tension of Religions in China and East Asia
The Zeitgeist 时代精神
The Degree of Slop 斜率
Japanese case：… “Contradiction”?
Tension: X3﹥X2﹥X1﹥ Population: Y3﹥Y2﹥Y1﹥0

27. East Asian Religions Vs. Religions in the West
Asymmetrical Concave Curve
Vs.
Bell-shaped Curve

28. Religious “Inters” and the Measurement of Religious Pluralism in the Future
Incense-pilgrims → Inter-pilgrims (Religious “Inters”)
Inter-religious tourists
Occasional “Inters”
Constant “Inters”
Double/multiple…
Tension: X3﹥X2﹥X1﹥ Population: Y3﹥Y2﹥Y1﹥0

29. East Asian Religions Vs. Religions in the West
Asymmetrical Concave Curve
Vs.
Bell-shaped Curve

30. Religious Phenomena in China & East Asia: How to Count, Measure and Calculation?
Statistic method of religious phenomena in China & East Asia requires a different approach. More attention should be given to practices rather than “affiliation”…
Typical Chinese religious/spiritual niches: Confucian ritual practitioners (儒礼的践行者), cultural/spiritual tourist (文化/灵性旅游者), occasional incense-pilgrims(偶然的香客), constant incense-pilgrims(经常的香客), lay disciples (居士or俗弟子) ,other-worldly practitioners(出家修行者), and sectarian believers (教门信众)
A much better mapping of religious phenomena in China and East Asia: the asymmetrical concave curve…
Comparison between the asymmetrical concave curve and the bell-shaped curve would shed some light…
Religious “Inters” and the Measurement of religious pluralism in the future…

31. Thank you!
Liyong Dai
PhD, Associate Professor School of Sociology, Central China Normal University Confucius Institute at Carleton University, Canada