臺灣民間參與進香的地區性差異：民眾參與進香的變因分析

Regional Differences in Pilgrimage Participation in Taiwan: Analysis of Influencing Factors

「進香」這項非常傳統的民間宗教儀式活動，隨著時代更迭以及社會文化氛圍的轉變，其形態及意義不斷地處於變動之中。所衍生的議題是，民眾參與進香活動的比例是否有地理區域的差異。本研究分析2018年臺灣社會變遷調查宗教組的調查資料，探索影響臺灣北、中、南三個地區民眾參與進香的差異因素。透過邏輯迴歸分析及地區進香比例差異的分解分析，結果發現：促成中部地區民眾參與進香比例高於北部與南部民眾的人口社會特性因素中，民眾的宗教信仰歸屬、宗教活動參與積極度、職業和教育這四項因素對進香參與的影響貢獻較為明顯。本文的分析進一步發現，促成地區差異的效果，主要是由民眾人口社會特性分布結構的地區差異所貢獻；而不同地區之民眾人口社會特性（自變項）對進香參與所產生的影響差異，只佔觀察到的地區粗差異值的2成（中部vs.南部）到3成（中部vs.北部）。此外，分解分析的結果也進一步發現，仍存在人口社會特性變項之外的其他地區特性與條件，影響中部地區的民眾有較高比例參與進香。

The traditional folk religious ritual of“pilgrimage”has undergone continuous transformation in its form and significance due to the changing times and shifts in the socio-cultural environment. An emerging issue is whether regional differences exist in the proportions of people who participate in pilgrimage activities. This study analyzes data from the 2018 Taiwan Social Change Survey (Religion Module) to determine factors that affect regional differences in pilgrimage participation among the populations of northern, central, and southern Taiwan. Logistic regression and decomposition analyses of regional pilgrimage participation rates revealed that the higher rate of pilgrimage participation in central Taiwan compared with those in northern and southern Taiwan is primarily attributed to four demographic and social factors: religious affiliation, active participation in religious activities, occupation, and education. However, the primary factor contributing to regional differences is structural variation in the demographic and social characteristics of populations across different regions. By contrast, the actual effects of individual demographic and social characteristics (independent variables) on pilgrimage participation constitute 20% (central vs. south) to 30% (central vs. north) of the observed raw regional differences. Furthermore, the decomposition analysis results indicate that some other regional characteristics and conditions beyond demographic and social characteristics contribute significantly to the higher rate of pilgrimage participation indicated by the population in central Taiwan.