From Edge to Mainstream: State regulation and the transition of Mormonism in the United States

在讨论教派向教会转变时,已有的研究往往关注群体规模的扩大、成员的代际更替、成员社会经济地位的提高等,很少有人关注政府的影响。本文以摩门教放弃重婚实践为例,探讨了政府管制对教派变迁的影响。作者发现,摩门教之所以主动降低与周围社会的张力是因为美国政府的压力,当时美国政府的一系列法律行动迫使摩门教放弃了重婚实践。美国政府的耐心、克制和适度压力与摩门教的适时妥协避免了矛盾的扩大,也使得摩门教的争议性日趋降低,逐渐被美国主流社会接受。通过对摩门教的个案研究,本文扩展了教派—教会理论的内容。

When probing factors contributing to the sect-to-church transition，previous researches focus on changes in the size and prosperity of organization，changes in the social characteristics of members，or the succession of members． This article，illustrating with the case of Mormonism，pays attention to the role of state regulation in the process of sect-to-church change． Early Mormons practied polygamy for religious reasons． Under the pressure of the U．S．government，however，the Mormon Church had to abandon polygamy． After that，Mormonism began to reduce the tension between itself and the surrounding society． State regulation plays an important role in the transition of Mormon Church．

北京市社会科学规划项目(编号:09BaSH045)；北京市优秀人才培养资助计划项目“北京市流动人口的宗教信仰研究”的支持

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