The Psychology of Peasant Religious Conversion for the Purpose of Disease Control:The Role of “Belief” in Understanding Chinese Rural Religious Practices

This paper focuses on the religious psychology of peasants who undergo religious conversion in order to cure an illness or disease. Field research was conducted in Wang village in Northern Jiangsu, examining the psychology of newly converted peasants. In academic circles psychology of peasants is usually critiqued according to utility and rationality, in this essay belief is a starting point for understanding the psychology of peasants. The natural mentality and family ethics of the peasants lead them to place high expectations on religion as a tool for curing disease and facing lifetime dilemmas. The three levels of religious practice include:religious construction of "belief", emotional embedding of "belief" and "faith". These requirements lead to a transformation of the individual's psychological status from secular to religious. Based on the interaction between individuals and religion which is affected by the initial disease and its seriousness, peasants'religious psychology is divided into three types:t