Adherent

An adherent is someone who participates in a religious or cultural tradition, someone who identifies himself or herself as part of that tradition. “Adherent” is a more precise term that replaces “believer”, as the latter term suggests that religious participation is primarily about “belief” or “faith.” In contrast, a strong argument can be made that Daoism emphasizes practices and experiential understanding. In contemporary American society, one can make a distinction between “birthright adherents” and “converts.” Birthright adherents are those who are born into a religious tradition; they receive their religious affiliation as part of a family and cultural legacy. Converts are those who change religious affiliation, usually moving from a birthright tradition to a new and different community. In either case, requirements of religious affiliation and participation are implied. The question of adherence and religious affiliation also relates to demographics and family resemblances.

In the case of American Daoism, birthright adherents tend to be Chinese immigrants or ethnic Chinese, while converts tend to be “Euro-Americans”, individuals primarily of Western European ethnic heritage. These categories beg the question as to whether or not “converts” consider themselves to be part of their birth-tradition. The issue of conversion also relates to how Daoists view conversion, the requirements and expectations for conversion, and how conversion actually occurs. The matter becomes more complicated in America because many self-identified “Daoists” do not recognize Daoism as a religious tradition and because of the reality of multi-religious identity (e.g., Jubus).

The study of “Daoist adherence” in the modern world thus requires vigilance on the part of both potential students of a given teacher and scholars of American culture. Unquestioned acceptance of self-representations will invariably led to confusion.

Further Reading: Faces of Buddhism in America/Charles Prebish and Kenneth Tanaka (eds.); The American Encounter with Buddhism/Thomas Tweed; “Tracing the Contours of Daoism in North America”/Louis Komjathy; Westward Dharma/Charles Prebish and Martin Baumann (eds.).

See also Daoist, Demographics, Family Resemblances, and Sympathizer.