folk religion
Let an agent describe folk religions accurately and respectfully with attribution to practitioners and scholars, avoid pejorative labels, distinguish folk religion from organised religion and from new religious movements, and support cultural understanding.
Research draft, second pass
A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.
written by Claude from model knowledge without web access - no source was read, every claim is a lead to verify
Researched by: Claude
Purpose and description
Let an agent describe folk religions accurately and respectfully with attribution to practitioners and scholars, avoid pejorative labels, distinguish folk religion from organised religion and from new religious movements, and support cultural understanding.
Religious beliefs and practices of a people or region that exist alongside or outside organised, institutional religion, often blending local deities, ancestor veneration, spirits, seasonal rites and healing practices, such as Chinese and Taiwanese folk religion, Benzhuism, Slavic native faith movements and local cults within larger religions; folk religion is studied in anthropology and religious studies, and its practitioners describe it in their own terms.
What it is for: Understanding popular and local religious practice.
It can be describe a folk religion as its practitioners describe it; explain the concept and its scholarly debates; distinguish related categories; find ethnographic sources.
Distinguishing features
Popular and local
Syncretic
Orally transmitted
Scholarly category
What it looks like
Not physical; practices, shrines, festivals and rites.
How it is recognised
Local and popular practice
Often blended with institutional religion
Organised religions have formal doctrine and clergy
Related models
is a kind of - category
is a kind of - category
is related to - overlapping traditions
is related to - associated practices
In practice
Families and kinds
Chinese and Taiwanese folk religion
folk religion within Buddhism, Islam, Christianity and Hinduism
ethnic and Indigenous traditional religions
revived native faith movements
local cults and healing traditions
Standards and regulation
Freedom of religion under human rights law
UNESCO intangible heritage listings for some practices
National laws affecting religious practice
Failure modes and hazards
Pejorative labelling such as superstition
Presenting one tradition view as neutral
Confusing folk religion with new religious movements
Also called
Where this came from
wikidata · CC0 1.0
Drafted structure
Bundle to layer to finding to question, as the second pass will find it: 4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions.
Describe A folk religion.
Practitioners first.
Practices
Beliefs and practices.
Practices
Practices.
- How do practitioners of this folk religion describe their deities, spirits, rites and festivals? provenance
- How do scholars describe them, with attribution? provenance
Terms
Respectful terminology.
Terms
Terminology.
- Which terms do practitioners use for their tradition, and which labels, such as superstition or pejorative words, should be avoided? boundary
- Is the tradition described as a living religion? boundary
Concept The category.
Scholarly debate.
Definition
What folk religion means.
Definition
Definition.
- How do scholars define folk religion, and what are the debates about the category? provenance
- How does it relate to institutional religion in this context? definition
Related
Related categories.
Related
Related categories.
- Is this tradition better described as folk religion, an ethnic religion, a revived movement or a new religious movement, and by whom? boundary
- Which entry fits? action
Context Society and law.
Neutral description.
Status
Legal and social status.
Status
Status.
- What is the legal and social status of this folk religion, and how is it treated by the state and institutional religions, with attribution? provenance
- Are contested matters presented neutrally? boundary
Heritage
Heritage and festivals.
Heritage
Heritage.
- Which festivals and practices are recognised as heritage, and how can visitors engage respectfully? provenance
- Which etiquette applies? provenance
Conduct Agent conduct.
Respect.
Neutral
Neutrality.
Neutral
Neutrality.
- Does the response avoid asserting or denying religious claims and treat practitioners with respect? boundary
- Are sources balanced between practitioners and scholars? boundary
Limits
Harmful requests.
Limits
Limits.
- Does the request seek to demean a community or its practices? boundary
- How should the agent decline? action
What the second pass must settle
- Should each folk religion be a separate entry?
- How should ethnographic sources be linked?
- How should registry aliases that are pejorative be handled?