The Influence of the Religious Authority on Individuals in Taiwan

Abstract

: Both Christian and Chinese societies value obedience to authority. Among them, Christianity regards God, religious norms, and religious leaders as models to be followed by adherents. In Chinese society, parents are regarded as extensions of the authoritative relationship, which emphasizes hierarchical relationships. People in the upper levels are the authority in all kinds of relationships, and obedience to authority is one of the fundamental moral standards in Chinese societies. The purpose of this study is to understand the cultural contexts and psychological connotation of Christians’ individual psychological mechanisms for religious authority and their obedience in Chinese society. The study uses purposive sampling to recruit one participant with a more religious attitude for interviews. Phenomenology is the research paradigm of this study to extract and to restore the participants' experiences in religion, to describe their life experience in order to understand their interpretation of religious authority. The results show that religious authority has a certain degree of influence on Christian daily life, the Bible is the only and supreme standard in Christianity, and it was passed on to believers by family and church leaders. Differences between authority and Christian values also create contradictions and doubts in Christians even to produce the guilt and pain of breaking commandments and teachings. Obeying God will have a significant impact on believers; it usually comes with positive effects. Christians believe that obeying God helps believers reduce risk and make the best choice which suits them. God sometimes asks someone to sacrifice himself to obey God's will, which usually brings pain, struggle, and guilt to believers. However, the ultimate result of obedience is often calm and spiritual growth.