Making Thai Buddhism "Work": Religious Legitimacy and Agency

Abstract

Religious legitimation is an important process that validates the authority of religious institutions, groups or individuals to impose a preferred model for practicing, organizing, and interpreting teachings and beliefs. This is especially so for a Thai Buddhism perceived to be in a state of ?crisis? and lacking the religious authority to provide moral and spiritual guidance in times of political and social turmoil. This thesis problematizes the process of religious legitimation within Thai Buddhism. Using an ethnographic field study of Buddhist meditation practitioners who follow Luang Por Teean?s teachings, this thesis explores the challenges to the religious legitimacy and authority of the traditional religious elites and institutions. The concept of ?religious work? is developed to examine how practitioners use their bodies and other resources to formulate alternative religious expressions, interpretations and practices. The persistence of diversity in religious practices and expressions within Thai Buddhism makes it difficult for traditional religious elites to impose a uniform model without a response from other practitioners. This thesis argues that religious legitimation is a ?work-in-progress? which opens up possibilities for democratizing Thai Buddhism, in part through the weakening of a monastic institution. Practitioners can now validate their own experiences, interpretations, organization and attainment without the necessity of such validation from the traditional clergy. This has implications for understanding the dynamics in social relations of power between the state, religious institutions and practitioners. It also paves the way for continuing conversations about religious relevance, transformations and pluralism.