臺灣地區民間宗教的發展：寺廟調查資料之分析

DEVELOPMENT OF TAIWANESE FOLK RELIGION: ANALYSIS OF GOVERNMENT COMPILED DATA

本文的主旨是透過政府機關寺廟調查統計資料的收集、整理、評估、分析瞭解臺灣民間宗教的某些發展趨勢。從資料中可以顯現在明清時期，日據時期，及光復後迄今的三個階段中，民間宗教的發展各有不同的特色。第一個階段是民間宗教從大陸閩粤兩地隨漢人移民的足跡，移植到臺灣的萌芽時期，經由分香，割香等儀式的不斷進行，臺灣民間宗教和閩粵祖籍地保持著極密切的關係，也可以說就是閩粤民間宗教的翻版。第二個階段因日本殖民政府的政治力干涉，切斷臺灣和閩粵的聯繫，民間宗教開始走上自立發展之路，在日本人導入許多純粹佛教的元素後，臺灣民間宗教逐漸陶融成一個獨特的宗教體系。從資料中可以看出若干相關的現象，例如：日據時期佛教寺廟數字的突增，釋迦牟尼及觀音菩薩祀廟的大幅增長，以及祖籍神明重要性的下降等。第三個階段正是臺灣地區遭逢極激烈社會文化變遷的衝擊之際，民間宗教受到世俗環境的影響，也產生某些變遷的現象，例如：王爺及祖籍神明祀廟重要性的下降，關聖帝君、玄天上帝祀廟相對的增長，廟宇規模的擴大等，都與臺灣某些社會文化條件具有相關性。從整體來看，臺灣近年經濟及教育水準的提高，並未使民間宗教的發展受到不利的影響，民間宗教仍呈現相當的發展潛力。

The overall aim of this article is to advance understanding of developmental aspects of Taiwanese folk religion. This is done by collecting, arranging, evaluating, and analyzing government compiled data on Taiwanese religion. This study finds three developmental stages in Taiwanese folk religion: 1.) Dynastic era of Ming and Ch'ing; 2.) Colonial era of Japanese occupation; and, 3.) Post Retrocession era from 1945 to the present. Folk religion was brought to Taiwan in the dynastic era by immigrants from Fukien and Kwangtung. Contact with home regions was maintained ritually through FEN HSIANG (分香), and KE HSIANG (割香).It is safe to say that Taiwanese folk religion reduplicated Fukien and Kwangtung folk religion in Taiwan during the Ming and Ch'ing dynasties. There was a major transformation in religion following the cession of Taiwan by the Ch'ing government to Japan. The Japanese cut off contacts between Taiwanese Han people and their home regions in the China mainland. Efforts to separate Taiwan from China mainland were intensified during the Sino-Japanese war. The folk religion developed and was sustained in isolation from external Chinese influences. Instead, pure Buddhist elements were introduced by the Japanese, and a unique religious system gradually took form. There have been dramatic socio-cultural changes in Taiwan over the last 40 years, These changes have influenced folk religion in many ways, and so folk religion has itself changed. For example, the relative importance of plague gods, such as WANG YEH (王爺), has decreased, but the popularity of some other gods have increased in comparison. There has also been a tendency to enlarge the scale of temple architecture. In sum, the developing potential of Taiwanese religion has not undermined through the changes of these various stages, although economical and educational level of Taiwan has risen tremendously.