The Dynamism of Household Rituals in Mongolia : In Consequence of Religious Control Under the Socialist System

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  • モンゴルにおける家庭内祭祀の動態 : 社会主義体制下の宗教統制を経て
  • モンゴル ニ オケル カテイ ナイ サイシ ノ ドウタイ シャカイ シュギ タイセイ カ ノ シュウキョウ トウセイ オ ヘテ

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Abstract

Following the collapse of Socialism, the religious situation in Mongolia has changed dramatically. Until 1990, almost all activities of religious groups had been forbidden under the socialist system, but the ideological liberalization has advanced the revival and formation of religion since 1990. Existing religions, such as Buddhism, Islam and Shamanism, have revitalized their religious activities. For example, Buddhism, which previously had only one monastery, has over 200 monasteries today, and the number of shamans is increasing in the eastern part of the country. At the same time, foreign religions such as Christianity and Baha'ism, have spread into Mongolia. Especially Protestant churches, which are engaged in missionary work most actively, have gained many believers and subsequently established about 200 churches. If we focus on the level of religious organizations, we might be able to describe these phenomena as a "religious revival". However, I would like to pay attention to religious practices performed on the household level. Such rituals have been unofficially maintained throughout the socialist period. Thus, by considering the continuity of household rituals, it will become possible to delineate the dynamic process of the religious situation in modern Mongolia. In other central Asian countries of the former Soviet Union, the local communities of nomadic society presented a great obstacle to anti-religious policies. The Soviet Union had exerted itself to reorganize these communities according to the socialistic constitutions, but this effort was not completely successful. In Mongolia, existing local societies had been almost entirely disrupted by The Great Purges of the 1930's and the collectivization and sedentarization of nomadic society. As a result, religion was eliminated from public space. My research, conducted in the spring of 2004, shows that the home has played an important role in the reproduction of religious practices, in contrast with the non-religiosity found outside the home. Household rituals have been strongly influenced by social changes such as collectivization and sedentarization. Many people have adopted such changes while still maintaining religious practices within the home, although some of the population has abandoned them. As a result of religious control under the socialist system, the religious practices and beliefs have been individualized and diversified, but the social and historical factors surrounding this process were very different from those of capitalist countries. In Mongolia it was a consequence of the elimination of religion from the public space and the religious reproduction within the home.

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  • Religion and Society

    Religion and Society 11 (0), 63-84, 2005

    The Japanese Association for the Study of Religion and Society

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