Abstract
Previous scholars have studied Daesoon Jinrihoe mainly through its scriptures and doctrines; however, in this essay I have combined data from a questionnaire with interviews I conducted to observe women's religious engagement from their own perspectives. I conducted my fieldwork from October 23 to 26 at Yeoju Headquarters in Korea and received 81 questionnaire replies. This ongoing project will shed light on the niche for women in Korean new religious movements. This essay is divided into three parts. First, I reviewed 5 articles on general attitudes towards women within Daesoon Jinrihoe to serve as a doctrinal introduction. Second, I used the Ladies Club, the Women's Assembly of the Department of Social Welfare, and female students from the Inter- national Volunteers Association to better understand women's participation and education in Daesoon Jinrihoe on an institutional level. Third, I issued a questionnaire in order to learn respondents' sex, age, educational background, and birth place and used those data points determine patterns in how the above influence religious participation and positions in Daesoon Jinrihoe. My investigation showed that both the self-expectation and division of labor among the followers at Yeoju Headquarter were affected by and corresponded to social gender roles. Moreover, the emphasis on missionary work rather than centralized hierarchy contributed to a reduction in the influence of gender-segregation and led to relative coherence in terms of gender relations within Daesoon Jinrihoe.
不同於以往教義和文獻為主的研究方法, 本文是首次結合問卷量化, 訪談調查, 從女性參與者觀點, 制度層面的研究。2019年10月23日至26日期間, 我到驪州本部道場進行田調, 共計回收有效問卷81份。期待落實大巡真理會的發展與理念, 更進一步比較分析東亞新興宗教的女性宗教生態(niche)。本文先回顧相關大巡真理會的婦女研究, 輔以其他大巡真理會的資料。透過早期的夫人會 (1980年成立) 到社會福祉部的婦女會, 國際志工團辦公室的青年會的女學生, 理解女性在宗教慈善活動扮演的角色以及教內的養成教育。然後以性別為比較主軸, 進行問卷分析。受訪者基本資料包含性別, 年齡, 籍貫, 教育程度 ; 其宗教參與則以修行經歷和教團分工為主, 包含入道年數, 家庭信教代別, 職業分布, 教內工作, 教內職級。上述研究變項與問卷問項顯示, 性別對大巡真理會信徒在弘法佈教中的自我預期, 教內分工, 皆存在影響效果。調查顯示, 大巡真理會的女信眾無論在教育機會, 工作分配和升遷上都符合社會期待的性別角色。這種和諧互補的兩性關係, 符合教義和現代韓國的新興宗教與家庭倫理。其各項男女差距以及分布情況並未產生性別分隔的情況, 驪州本部道場受雇用的女性仍然具優勢。