Publication details
Fetter and Chain: Czech Buddhist Converts Experience of Parenting in Detraditionalized Society
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| Year of publication | 2015 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
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| Description | The religious minorities have undergone important demographic changes during last decade. Arrival of the second generation triggered a new issues and debates as religion can be considered a core dimension of personhood, an important source of values, life purpose, communal belonging. The contribution is based on a qualitative research intending to shed light on emic perspective that forms attitudes of Buddhist parents (who themselves converted to religion on the base of personal decision in the adulthood) towards socialization of their children. The socialization is a process into which different actors intervene: members of broader family, school, media, religious authorities, peer group etc. In qualitative interviews parents clearly expressed feelings of unease and doubts about their way of parenting and worries connected with influence of "majority society" (emic term) on their children. They perceive parenting as new spiritual goal and they seek the way how to become authority for their children. They attempt to create a local Buddhist community which would make sharing of the practise with children possible and also help them to bring up children in convenient environment. Community would help them maintain a living collective chain of memory (Daniele Hervié -Léger) as a source of meaning for their children. We can observe that due to the lack of sources (authority, background, members) the creation of local community must be fostered by different forms of relationship with global community. |
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