以古鑑今論臺灣當代佛教與基督宗教：從一門通識課作業談起=A Historical Perspective on Contemporary Buddhism and Christianity in Taiwan: Beginning with an Assignment for a General Education Course
Buddhism and Christianity have had a substantial impact and made contributions to Taiwan's society. I teach a general education course that focuses on these two religions and Islam. In 2014, I designed an assignment for this course in which students contact Christian churches and Buddhist temples/monasteries and write interview reports. These students' experiences and reports serve as the starting point of my research. I associate them with my long-term observation of Buddhism and Christianity in Taiwan and use the historical developments of these two religions for reference, thereby discovering some significant phenomena. Since their inceptions, both religions have been filled with a sense of mission to disseminate their doctrine. Later, for the sake of exploring and spreading the ＂truth＂ of their own, the two religions established institutions of considerable size for education and research. However, there is disparity between the two religions in terms of how effectively their institutions function in Taiwan. From the beginning, both religions encouraged followers to frequent churches or temples/monasteries and learn about religious doctrine there. Congregational meetings are held (approximately) every seven days, which is called ＂Sunday worship/Sunday Mass＂ in Christianity or ＂fasting day/uposatha＂ in Buddhism. The term fahui法會 ＂Dharma assembly＂ originally referred to this kind of gathering where the scriptures are preached. In contemporary Taiwan, however, such Buddhist congregations have faded away while Christianity still maintains its tradition of such meetings. Buddhism and Christianity have split into many branches for a long time. In recent decades, the two religions in Taiwan have developed opposite trends in sectarian ideologies. The former tends to identify itself as ＂[Han] Chinese tradition Buddhism＂ with national characteristics, and each Buddhist sect endeavors to develop its individual features to distinguish itself from the others. The latter emphasizes the universality of Christian faith and tries to break down barriers between denominations so that different denominations can cooperate in missionary and charitable social work.
