|
 One important
question concerning the data presented in this report concerns the
possible existence of pluralist and exclusivist "core groups."
By "core group," I mean those two groups of individuals
who consistently respond with, respectively, exclusivist or pluralist
responses. As will be seen in what follows, it is not easy in actual
fact to discern whether or not such core groups do exist. Virtually
none of the respondents answered all twelve questions consistently
in terms of pluralist or exclusivist responses. My approach has
been to take a set of key Questions and to see, by a process of
reduction, how many respondents answered those questions in a relatively
consistently manner one way or the other.
When all is
said and done, roughly, one respondent in ten adhered to a pluralist
perspective with some degree of consistency. As will be seen in
what follows, the pluralists comprised a relatively large segment
of the total sample until the respondents' attitudes towards participation
in Buddhist rites was considered, at which point the size of the
pluralist core group dropped off significantly.
As
stated above the method used for defining the pluralist core group
is a reductionist one. We begin in Table 65 with the data from Question
5, eliminating from that data only those who agreed with the first
response that people of other faiths are damned because salvation
is found in Christianity alone. The other three responses to Question
5 (see the Appendix) are taken to be explicitly or implicitly pluralist
in intent, the premise being that any response that is not overtly
exclusivist is implicitly pluralist. We find in Table 65 that 514
respondents answered Question 5 in a manner that we can broadly
label as being pluralist.
Table 65
Frequency Distributions for Questions 5, 6, and 13.1
Eliminating Exclusivist Responses for Question 5
 |
Question 5 |
Question 6 |
Question 13.1 |
| 1 |
0.0% |
28.9% |
74.8% |
| 2 |
27.2% |
25.3% |
14.1% |
| 3 |
48.2% |
41.6% |
1.7% |
| 4 |
24.5% |
1.4% |
3.7% |
| 5 |
0.0% |
2.8% |
5.4% |
| N |
514 |
502 |
460 |
Note: the categories of responses 1 – 5 in the first column refer to the responses in each question,
which can be found in the questionnaire in the Appendix.
In
Table 66, we perform the same operation as was conducted for Table
65 once again, this time with Question 6; this time, however, we
eliminate exclusivist responses to both Questions 5 and 6. Question
6, we will remember, asked what it means to love one's neighbor,
and the first response was to overtly evangelism them, which answer
we have considered exclusivist. Table 66 shows the results of excluding
those who chose the first response in Question 6 as well as the
exclusivists from Question 5 from our pluralist core group. The
number of that group is now reduced from 516 to 357.
Table 66
Frequency Distributions for Questions 5, 6, and 13.1
Eliminating Exclusivist Responses for Questions 5 and 6
|
Question 5
|
Question 6 |
Question 13.1 |
| 1 |
0.0% |
0.0% |
70.7% |
| 2 |
23.2% |
35.6% |
17.4% |
| 3 |
52.7% |
58.5% |
1.6% |
| 4 |
24.1% |
2.0% |
4.4% |
| 5 |
0.0% |
3.9% |
6.0% |
| N |
357 |
357 |
317 |
Note: the categories of responses 1 – 5 in the first
column refer to the responses in each question,which can be
found in the questionnaire in the Appendix.
Table
67 represents the results of our third reduction of the figure for
the pluralist core group. Taking the group left from the first two
"cuts," we now drop from the pluralist group all of those
who answered Question 13.1 by agreeing with the first response that
Christians should not take part in Buddhist rituals including raising
their hand in an attitude of prayer-like respect (phanom mue).
With this final "cut," we find that what we might call
the inner or more rigorous core group consists of 93 respondents
or 12.8% of the total sample of 726.
Table 67
Frequency Distributions for Questions 5, 6, and 13.1
Eliminating Exclusivist Responses for all three Questions
|
Question 5 |
Question 6 |
Question 13.1 |
| 1 |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
| 2 |
9.7% |
31.2% |
59.1% |
| 3 |
69.9% |
61.3% |
5.4% |
| 4 |
20.4% |
2.2% |
15.1% |
| 5 |
0.0% |
5.4% |
20.4% |
| N |
93 |
93 |
93 |
Note: the categories of responses 1 – 5 in the first column refer to the responses in each question,
which can be found in the questionnaire in the Appendix.
It
can be argued, however, that our total sample is skewed by the presence
of two particular congregations. We have seen above that the Fa
Ham Chinese Church is not representative of typical northern Thai
congregations and that the Suwanduangrit Church in District One
has a unique experience in reconciliation with its Buddhist neighbors
that makes it also quite different from a "typical" northern
Thai Protestant congregation. If we eliminate from our total sample
the 105 members from these two churches, we are left with a sample
of 621 respondents. Not surprisingly, none of the Fa Ham members
are found among the 93 "pluralists" in Table 67, but 23
members of the Suwanduangrit Church are counted in that number and
constitute 25.8% of the 93 pluralists. If we eliminate them as well,
we are left with a pluralist core group of 70 individuals from a
total sample of 621 respondents and the conclusion that 11.3% of
our "typically" northern Thai Protestant sample is largely
consistently pluralist.
If
the above computations are at all valid, it seems that roughly one
in ten of the total sample hold a fairly consistent pluralist attitude
towards people of other faiths. They admit, or more often fully
accept, the possibility that people of other faiths can be saved
in their own faith. They do not agree to the idea that love of neighbors
of other faiths involves the overt evangelization of those neighbors.
They do not agree that Christians should not phanom mue during
formal Buddhist merit-making rituals. Their views are not unlike
pluralist northern Thai cultural attitudes when it comes to people
of other faiths. However, if this reductionist procedure is pushed
to the extreme of testing every question in the instrument that
measures pluralist and exclusivist perspectives, the pluralist core
group virtually disappears. Rigid pluralists do not appear in the
sample, which given the nature of northern Thai pluralism itself
is not surprising.
Tables 68
and 69 contain the frequency distributions for the pluralist core
group (Table 68) and the total sample (Table 69) by five of the
seven variables surveyed in this study. Readers will have to consult
the tables in Chapter 5, Questions 16 through 22 for the specific
categories numbered 1 through 8 in the first column of these two
tables. To summarize the results briefly, the larger pluralist
core group of 93 respondents (including the Suwanduangrit Church)
tend to be younger in age, more female than male, more rural than
urban, stronger among the general membership than among church
officers, and more highly educated. The presence of the Suwanduangrit
Church members skews the sample only for location.
Table 68
Frequency Distributions for the Pluralist Core Group by Five Variables
|
16 Age |
17 Sex |
18 Location |
19 Position |
20 Education |
| 1 |
9.9% |
67.4% |
44.8% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
| 2 |
11.0% |
32.6% |
26.4% |
6.8% |
1.1% |
| 3 |
24.2% |
0.0% |
13.8% |
10.2% |
19.4% |
| 4 |
14.3% |
0.0% |
14.9% |
83.0% |
12.9% |
| 5 |
18.7% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
15.1% |
| 6 |
14.3% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
6.5% |
| 7 |
6.6% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
6.5% |
| 8 |
1.1% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
38.7% |
| Number |
91 |
89 |
87 |
88 |
93 |
Note: the categories of responses 1 –
8 in the first column refer to the responses in each question,
which can be found in the questionnaire in the Appendix.
Table 69
Frequency Distributions for the Total Sample by Five Variables
|
16 Age |
17 Sex |
18 Location |
19 Position |
20 Education |
| 1 |
4.0% |
58.8% |
47.1% |
3.2% |
0.3% |
| 2 |
8.4% |
41.1% |
20.7% |
16.8% |
2.2% |
| 3 |
17.2% |
0.0% |
19.2% |
13.1% |
23.0% |
| 4 |
21.1% |
0.0% |
13.0% |
66.9% |
15.3% |
| 5 |
23.6% |
0.1% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
18.4% |
| 6 |
15.5% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
5.6% |
| 7 |
7.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
5.2% |
| 8 |
3.1% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
30.1% |
| Number |
702 |
691 |
682 |
686 |
695 |
Note: the categories of responses 1 –
8 in the first column refer to the responses in each question,
which can be found in the questionnaire in the Appendix.
The other
two variables, whether or not the respondents were born into a
Christian family and whether or not they live with in the same
home with people of other faiths, showed relatively little differences.
The process
for defining an exclusivist core group among the respondents is
much the same as we used to define the pluralist core group with
one important exception. Although we are using the same three
items from the questionnaire, Questions 5, 6, and 13.1, in the
case of the exclusivist core group all responses are eliminated
that are not identifiably, overtly exclusivist. Exclusivism, as
we have understood it in this study, was introduced into northern
Thai Protestant thinking by Western missionaries and, as such,
should share the same stricter sense of boundaries between its
own views and those of others.
Table 70
shows that after the first "cut," a potential exclusivist
core group numbers 201 respondents.
Table 70
Frequency Distributions for Questions 5, 6, and 13.1
Eliminating Pluralist Responses for Question 5
|
Question 5 |
Question 6 |
Question 13.1 |
| 1 |
100.0% |
62.0% |
89.1% |
| 2 |
0.0% |
13.0% |
6.0% |
| 3 |
0.0% |
23.0% |
1.6% |
| 4 |
0.0% |
0.5% |
0.5% |
| 5 |
0.0% |
1.5% |
2.7% |
| N |
201 |
200 |
183 |
Note: the categories of responses 1 –
5 in the first column refer to the responses in each question,
which can be found in the questionnaire in the Appendix.
Table 71
indicates that when those who gave pluralist answers in either
Question 5 or Question 6 are eliminated from the total sample,
the potential exclusivist core group is further reduced to 124
respondents.
Table 71
Frequency Distributions for Questions 5, 6, and 13.1
Eliminating all Pluralist Responses for Questions 5 and 6
|
Question 5 |
Question 6 |
Question 13.1 |
| 1 |
100.0% |
100.0% |
91.2% |
| 2 |
0.0% |
0.0% |
3.5% |
| 3 |
0.0% |
0.0% |
2.6% |
| 4 |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
| 5 |
0.0% |
0.0% |
2.6% |
| N |
124 |
124 |
114 |
Note: the categories of responses 1 –
5 in the first column refer to the responses in each question,
which can be found in the questionnaire in the Appendix.
Table 72,
finally, shows the results of our final "cut," by which
all of those who gave pluralist responses to at least one of the
three questions among Questions 5, 6 or 13.1 are eliminated. Some
103 respondents (14.3% of the total sample) remain in the core
group. As in the case of the pluralist core group, however, we
would do best to eliminate the members of the uniquely exclusivist
Fa Ham Chinese Church and the unusually pluralist Suwanduangrit
Church from this number. When we do so, we are left with a total
sample of 621 respondents. It is no surprise to find that there
are no members of the Suwanduangrit Church in the 104 exclusivist
core group shown in Table 72. There are 23 members from the Fa
Ham Church in that group and eliminating them leaves us with a
final exclusivist core group of 81 respondents, which amount to
13.0% of the reduced total sample. This is only a slightly larger
percentage than the 11.3% figure for the pluralist core group.
Table 72
Frequency Distributions for Questions 5, 6, and 13.1
Eliminating all Pluralist Responses for any one of the three Questions
|
Question 5 |
Question 6 |
Question 13.1 |
| 1 |
100.0% |
100.0% |
100.0% |
| 2 |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
| 3 |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
| 4 |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
| 5 |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
| N |
104 |
104 |
104 |
We are left,
then, with an exclusivist core group that is roughly the same
size as the pluralist group, above. Each of them comprise roughly
one-tenth of the total sample, allowing for extreme cases. That
is to say, only about one respondent in five shows a relatively
marked tendency towards consistently pluralist or exclusivist
attitudes. The other four-fifths generally hold a mixture of pluralist
and exclusivist attitudes, which we have already described as
leaning towards pluralism in their thinking about people of other
faiths and exclusivism when in it comes to participation in Buddhist
rites.
If we again
compare the same five variables for the exclusivist core group
that we used for the pluralist group, above, we find in Tables
73 and 74 that for the most part the exclusivist core group is
only slightly different from the total sample. They tend to be
slightly older and slightly more male. They also tend to be more
urban and less rural and better educated than the total sample;
in these two cases, however, the Fa Ham Church members skew the
sample, which is closer to the norm for the whole sample if they
are excluded. We should note that the one group that shows the
greatest inclination towards exclusivism is the pastors. For the
various categories represented in column 1 of both of these tables,
the reader will have to consult the tables for Questions 16 through
20 in Chapter Five, below. Also, please note that Table 74 duplicates
Table 69, above and is presented here again to simplify comparisons
between Tables 73 and 74.
Table 73
Frequency Distributions for the Exclusivist Core Group by Five
Variables
|
16 Age |
17 Sex |
18 Location |
19 Position |
20 Education |
| 1 |
0.0% |
56.3% |
38.2% |
6.8% |
1.0% |
| 2 |
6.9% |
43.7% |
19.6% |
18.4% |
2.9% |
| 3 |
23.5% |
0.0% |
21.6% |
12.6% |
10.8% |
| 4 |
23.5% |
0.0% |
20.6% |
62.1% |
13.7% |
| 5 |
25.5% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
18.6% |
| 6 |
13.7% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
5.9% |
| 7 |
5.9% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
6.9% |
| 8 |
1.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
40.2% |
| Number |
102 |
103 |
102 |
103 |
102 |
Note: the categories of responses 1 –
8 in the first column refer to the responses in each question,
which can be found in the questionnaire in the Appendix.
Table 74
Frequency Distributions for the Total Sample by Five Variables
|
16 Age |
17 Sex |
18 Location |
19 Position |
20 Education |
| 1 |
4.0% |
58.8% |
47.1% |
3.2% |
0.3% |
| 2 |
8.4% |
41.1% |
20.7% |
16.8% |
2.2% |
| 3 |
17.2% |
0.0% |
19.2% |
13.1% |
23.0% |
| 4 |
21.1% |
0.0% |
13.0% |
66.9% |
15.3% |
| 5 |
23.6% |
0.1% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
18.4% |
| 6 |
15.5% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
5.6% |
| 7 |
7.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
5.2% |
| 8 |
3.1% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
30.1% |
| Number |
702 |
691 |
682 |
686 |
695 |
Note: the categories of responses 1 – 8 in the first
column refer to the responses in each question, which can
be found in the questionnaire in the Appendix.
We
should also note that a higher percentage of those who were not
born into a Christian family (Question 21) are found in exclusivist
core group than is true of the whole sample. That is, of the whole
sample 31.8% of the respondents stated that they were not born into
a Christian family while 41.3% of the exclusivist core group stated
that they were not born into a Christian family.
A
good deal of figuring and finagling has gone into the argument developed
in this chapter, which I am sure can be challenged on a number of
analytical grounds. Most importantly, obviously, choosing another
three questions for determining the two core groups will result
in different figures. For example, if we use Questions 1, 7, and
12 as our test for pluralism, we are left in the end with a scant
24 respondents (3.3% of the total sample) who fit the profile for
pluralist, which number includes 9 members of the "ultra-pluralist"
Ban Dok Daeng Church. Using the similar set of Questions 2, 7, and
12, as the test for exclusivism, on the other hand, results in a
huge exclusivist core group of 381 respondents (52.5% of the total
sample). It should be noted that there is no reasonable set of questions,
the analysis of which will result in such a large pluralist core
group. The problem with trying to discover a pluralist core group
arises when we consider the respondents' attitudes towards participation
in Buddhist rites, especially if the data from Question 12 is used.
The data from Question 12 shows the strongest tendency towards of
exclusivism of any the questions used to measure the respondents'
attitudes, and if we use the data from that question as part of
the screen for our two core groups it provides, as we have just
seen, very lopsided results.
My
own sense, however, is that using the combination of Questions 1
or 2, 7, and 12 to discern the two core groups is not as fair or
realistic as the combination of Questions 5, 6, and 13.1. It does
not reflect the inter-play between the exclusivist and pluralist
options that otherwise suffuses the data. It takes the extreme case
of wai-ing Buddha images as the single-most important test
for deciding who is pluralist and who is exclusivist, and very few
of the respondents are willing to go that far in the direction of
pluralism—even among respondents who otherwise show pluralist
proclivities.
It
seems to me, thus, that the questions used in this chapter, Questions
5, 6, and 13.1 provide a more realistic picture of the relative
strength of the two core groups, which are nearly equal in size
as we have seen. They do not invite quite the heavy exclusivist
response that the combination of Questions 2, 7, and 12 do, and
they thus represent a fairer test of the two groups. The point of
this exercise, in any event, is not to arrive a some concrete conclusion
concerning the actual size of the two core groups. The point is,
rather, to show that both exclusivism and pluralism are evident
in the attitudes of the great majority of the respondents and that
the whole matter of trying to discover meaningfully defined core
groups of exclusivists and pluralists is difficult, at best.
An
important observation revealed in this exercise is that however
much we play with the data it does seem to be easier to identify
an exclusivist core group than a pluralist one. That is what we
would expect, given the nature of exclusivism itself, which values
ideological and behavioral consistency. Missionary exclusivism held
a worldview in which there is right and wrong and nothing in between.
Anything that could be construed as mixing right and wrong or compromising
between them was taken to be compromising with evil. Only right
and wrong exist in an exclusivist, dualistic worldview. It appears
that something just over 10% of our total sample continues to think
with the same exclusivist consistency that the old-time missionaries
taught the church to hold. The actual percentage might be somewhat
larger than 10%, but the important thing to note is that we can
identify an exclusivist core group with a degree of certainty.
It is not
as easy to pin down a consistent pluralist core group and that
too is to be expected. Thai cultural pluralism does not value
ideological consistency of thought nearly to the degree that Western
dualistic exclusivism does. It recognizes gray areas, and it is
willing to see the value in religions that are not Buddhist. However,
there is a strong emphasis on right behavior. Orthopraxy is more
important than orthodoxy, and it is in the arena of orthopraxy
that the respondents show a decided inclination towards exclusivism.
That is to say, that the exclusivist-pluralist mix we have found
in this study makes a good deal of sense in light of the differing
expectations of northern Thai Protestantism's dual heritage. Some
85-90% of Northern Thai Protestants are generally willing to accept
people of other faiths, but some 90% of them are hesitant to participate
in their rituals and ceremonies, a hesitation that has significant
repercussions in pluralist northern Thai society because the larger
society cannot see what northern Thai Protestant are thinking
but does observe and disapprove of their unwillingness to take
part in Buddhist rites.
What, still
again, needs to be emphasized is that in all of this we are dealing
with sets of tendencies and inclinations that admit to no hard
and fast conclusions. Nowhere do we see this fact more clearly
than in the attempt to locate those groups of respondents that
are consistently one thing or another. What we find is that the
most consistent group is the some 80% of the sample who "consistently"
mix their thinking a behavior in varying combinations of exclusivist
and pluralist ways.
|
