当代中国超常信仰的经验研究——兼论中国宗教的内容与格局

An Empirical Study on the Paranormal Beliefs in Contemporary China: Exploring how to define Chinese religions

本文利用"2007年中国价值的经验调查"(2007 Empirical Survey of Valuesin China,ESVIC)数据,对当代中国的超常信仰活动进行了探索性的经验研究。研究发现,中国人超常信仰的实践形式多样,但并不普遍。在超常信仰的社会相关性方面,年龄、婚姻状况、受教育程度以及身体健康状况等因素与超常信仰行为显著相关。年长、已婚有偶、受教育程度较低以及身体健康自评差的人群更有可能发生超常信仰行为,但具体到超常信仰行为的不同类型,其差异性又有不同。这显示了超常信仰在社会相关性方面的复杂程度。在超常信仰与宗教的关系方面,分析表明有宗教信仰者发生看风水和看星象等超常信仰行为的可能性明显高于无宗教信仰的个体,但在测字和解梦上则略低。本文最后从超常信仰研究的价值着眼,就中国宗教的内容和格局展开了探讨。

Using the 2007 Empirical Survey of Values in China ESVIC, the authors conducted an empirical study on the paranormal beliefs in contemporary China. The authors find that the types of paranormal beliefs in China are various, but not prevailing. Chinese paranormal beliefs are statistically significant correlated with variables such as age, marital status, education level, and health condition. Those who are older, married, less educated, and have self-rating bad health are more likely to practice paranormal beliefs, but the social correlations are complicated. They are different among types of paranormal beliefs. In the relationship between paranormal beliefs and religious beliefs, the analysis shows that religious believers are more likely to have some paranormal beliefs than non-believers. At the end, the authors explored how to define Chinese Religions.