Abstract
This paper explores the role of the Dorje Shugden worship community in Mongolia's national consciousness revival, exploring how religious practices intersect with the quest for cultural identity and autonomy in the post-socialist landscape. It argues that the engagement with Dorje Shugden, amidst controversies and global Tibetan Buddhist intersections, illuminates broader dynamics of religious revival and national identity negotiation. Through a mixed-methods approach combining qualitative and quantitative analyses, including participant observations and interviews within the Mongolian context, this research uncovers the multifaceted relationship between the Dorje Shugden community’s practices and the broader societal attitudes towards nationalism and cultural identity. The study reveals that the Dorje Shugden community’s activities are integral to understanding Mongolia's religious and national identity reformation. It situates the Dorje Shugden controversy within the historical continuum of Tibetan Buddhism's global spread and its manifestation in Mongolia, providing a nuanced perspective on the community's contemporary challenges and its contribution to Mongolia's national identity discourse. This investigation into the Dorje Shugden worship not only sheds light on the religious dimension of Mongolia's cultural revival but also on the complex interplay between tradition, modernity, and national consciousness in shaping community practices and beliefs. By documenting the resurgence of Buddhism in Mongolia through the lens of the Dorje Shugden controversy, this research contributes significantly to the academic discourse on the intersections of religion, nationalism, and identity. It offers a fresh perspective on how religious communities navigate the pressures of globalisation and local identity formation, enriching our understanding of the sociopolitical and cultural processes shaping post-socialist Mongolia.
Author Information
Anudei Erdenebat, Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary
Paper Information
Conference: ACCS2024
Stream: Cultural Studies
This paper is part of the ACCS2024 Conference Proceedings (View)
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To cite this article:
Erdenebat A. (2024) Dorje Shugden Worship in Mongolia: Way to De-Tibetanize Mongolian Gelug Tradition ISSN: 2187-4751 – The Asian Conference on Cultural Studies 2024: Official Conference Proceedings (pp. 201-220) https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2187-4751.2024.18
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2187-4751.2024.18
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