How does modern society treat subculture traditions?
The development of human religious civilization has a development process from natural religion to witchcraft religion and then to ethical religion. A highly rational and mature religion completely abandons magical power and secular miracles, and religious belief can neither cure diseases nor make a fortune.
Quiet places are filled with utilitarian world of mortals.
Zhang Ming said in the Oriental Morning Post that Buddhism and Taoism are very popular in China at present. Many Buddhist temples are expensive, full of incense and bustling pilgrims, from dignitaries to pawns, are willing to pay a lot of money. And those who pray to God and worship Buddha often hope to make them rich or have a prosperous career through some kind of magic. Few people care about the teachings of Buddhism and Taoism and the good deeds carried forward behind them. The dignitaries seem to think that they can do whatever they want on weekdays, and they can get the blessing of the Buddha by paying a lot when they worship the Buddha. Wang is not so heroic in giving, but his psychology of worshipping Buddha is similar. In order to cater to pilgrims, some monks and Taoists are full of utilitarianism in their words and deeds, turning a quiet place like the Buddhist temple into a place where ordinary people conduct bribery transactions with the gods and buddhas. Because of this, what people care about is not their knowledge and accomplishment, but their kung fu. With kung fu, there is magic; Only when you have magic can you do things for them, even if you do evil things.
The mass media set up a cheating platform.
Li Tie said in Time Weekly that not long ago, Li Yi, the host of Shaolong View in Jinyun Mountain, appeared on the cover of Southern People Weekly, a serious media in China. In-depth reports written by reporters with the brushwork of Jin Yong's martial arts novels have caused great controversy among media peers. It is hard for many people to understand that even today, there are still some media in China who openly believe in the magic of chinese odyssey. This kind of report undoubtedly shocked a large number of readers, and then various questions followed, and relevant departments also intervened in the investigation. Li Yi, the host of Shao Long Temple in Jinyun Mountain, who became famous in the earthquake, fell from the throne of a health care master and a "fairy" overnight and became a monster that everyone shouted.
There are naturally many "noble people" behind Yi Lee's "immortality", among which the media "played an important role". Liv told the Economic Observer that Fan Xinman, director of CCTV, was the first person to publish a book to promote Yi Lee. Later, Hunan Satellite TV's "Everyday Up" and other TV programs made Li Yian an absolute celebrity. Some media even forgot the "rules" of staying away from religious circles, and helped Yi Lee appear in the name of health preservation, making public media a platform for fraudsters to display their tricks.
Mature religion is highly rational.
Although witchcraft and religion have certain connections, they also have clear boundaries and qualitative differences. The essence of witchcraft is to try to find laws and specific methods, and use these methods to realize some supernatural ability. The explanation of "witchcraft" in Ci Hai is that fantasy relies on "supernatural power" to strengthen its influence or control over objects. Witchcraft is to connect the gods with the help of people, that is, people use the gods; In religion, people are not qualified to give orders in front of the gods, but can only pray to them. Believing in God instead of sending it is the biggest difference between religion and witchcraft.
Mature religions treat miracles and magical powers with a low profile, while highly rational religions completely deny the possibility of acquiring superpowers through cultivation. Witchcraft emphasizes magical power, while religion emphasizes ethical power and ethical behavior in this world. Mature religions tell you about ethics and the simplest principles of being a man, while the popular witchcraft keeps silent about "energy", "qi", magic and secrets.
Small traditions mainly play a role in the people.
Religious anthropology tells us that the development of human religious civilization has a gradually rational development process from natural religion to witchcraft religion and then to ethical religion.
In the early religious forms of all ethnic groups, people believe that they can approach God with the help of witchcraft and gain supernatural power. There are many forms of witchcraft. Besides the wizard's practice and divination, there are some other variants, such as alchemy and practicing magical powers. Through some special meditation and enlightenment, communication and unity with God can be achieved. Around 500 BC, the East and the West completed the leap of civilization almost at the same time, and religion also evolved from natural religion and witchcraft religion to ethical religion. A highly rational and mature religion completely abandons magical power and secular miracles, and religious belief can neither cure diseases nor make a fortune. For example, in Zoroastrianism before Christianity, the meaning of ethics replaced the meaning of witchcraft, practice and magic, and people's lives were devoted to justice and morality. People no longer rely on the power of witchcraft, but on the power of justice and ethics to approach God.
In Shang Dynasty, China's culture and religion also achieved a rational leap. Chen Lai, a famous scholar, described this process as follows: "In the development of China culture, after the first differentiation (sacrificial culture replaced the dominant position of witchcraft culture), witchcraft remained in folk culture and became a small tradition, which was condensed into a small tradition through various methods in the following thousands of years." Small traditions mainly play a role in the people, and their influence is limited to the lower classes, while the mainstream intellectuals of literati and officialdom have basically abandoned these things. Even if some scholars still believe, they do it in private and dare not go to court.
Modern society pursues the separation of church and state and freedom of belief.
Modern free society pursues the separation of church and state and freedom of belief. People have the freedom to believe in witchcraft and primitive religion, as well as wizards, astrologers and qigong masters. As long as it is not illegal, it is allowed to carry out business. However, these sub-cultures and small traditions are subject to various checks and balances in a healthy modern society and cannot become the beliefs of mainstream people like mature religions.
First, the Orthodox Church and other social forces compete and criticize it. In addition, these witchcraft activities are often combined with pseudo-scientific deception, and some non-governmental organizations will specifically expose scams and clarify the truth. For example, the "Anti-cult Group Movement" (ACM) in the United States exposed many scams of pseudo-masters.
In addition to social forces, the government and the law also pay close attention to people who cheat by witchcraft. It is often for money that tricks are played. These witchcraft swindlers who wander on the edge of the law have to cross the line. Once they cross the legal boundaries, cheat money, cheat women and practice medicine illegally, the government and the law will immediately bring them to justice.
In particular, many swindlers and wizards will use the power of the media to promote themselves. Without the help of the media, they can only be as bad as fortune tellers in the countryside. In a mature media system, the media can abide by strict news norms, basic scientific common sense and values, always keep a distance from scammers, and often even successfully expose some witchcraft scams.
Zhang Wuben, Yi Lee and others can bluff in a big way, which is inseparable from the help of individual media. These cases have taught China media people a lesson, and their media peers need to reflect deeply.