為何要建廟？從廟宇興建的物質化過程探討馬祖社群再造

Why Build a Temple? The Materialization of New Community Ideals in the Demilitarized Islands between China and Taiwan

本文透過兩次「社造」的進行來探討社群、宗教、與物質文化的關係。馬祖在1992年解除戰地政務後，頓時失去過去做為「反共前線」與「台海堡壘」的軍事重要性。如何找出自己新的定位是當地亟待解決的問題。1990年間當地菁英引入台灣社造，開始進行閩東傳統聚落保存。這一波社造當時在馬祖確實引起地方相當的關注，成果也吸引了台灣媒體爭相報導。但是，在未能獲得地方多數人支持的情形下，進行幾年後便草草結束。之後，一直到社造菁英們瞭解到地方宗教的力量，與當地人合力興建廟宇後，真正由下而上的「社造」才逐漸成形。本文從物質文化的觀點切入，探討廟宇興建的物質化過程，如何提供我們重新認識社群與宗教的關係。

Since the early 20th century, religion has been seen by the Chinese state and intellectuals as an obstacle to modernization and has thus been devalued. This article points out how this pejorative view of religion has latently persisted in contemporary Taiwan in the formulation of an important policy of community development. The author draws on ethnography from the Mazu islands, a former frontier military base, to investigate the predicaments and breakthroughs of community projects carried out there. This paper aims to show that a consensus of new community began to emerge only when the local elites recognized the importance of religion and began to participate in building the village temple-an architecture held in great esteem by residents. This paper demonstrates that religion and, in particular, the process of its materialization into a temple, serve as a basis for the formation of a new community.