To many Chinese, religion is a belief rather than a field of academic study. An example of this mentality is reflected in the fact that the Ministry of Education officially considers someone who has completed a university-level theological education in a private institution a high-school graduate.
Inside an ordinary-looking building in Peitou, a suburb north of Taipei, a group of students are busy at work. The atmosphere is quiet and serious, much like a university or graduate-school class, but the students of Chung-hwa Institute of Buddhist Studies (CHIBS) are not enrolled in a course commonly found in such institutions. They are learning Sanskrit, an ancient language that is no longer used in modern times but is essential to the study of Buddhism. "Buddhism is one of the most important religions to the Chinese and has been for a long time, but we weren't paying much attention to it as an academic subject," says Lee Chih-fu, director of the institute. "Without academic study, a religion might wither away. We want to avoid that by cultivating more students of Buddhism."
Each year the CHIBS accepts ten to twelve full-time and a number of part-time students. Full-time students are offered three years of free tuition, board, and a monthly scholarship of NT$5,000 (US$145). The curriculum falls into three main categories: Chinese Buddhism, Indian Buddhism, and Tibetan Buddhism. Emphasis is also placed on learning the languages of Buddhist texts--Sanskrit, Pali, and Tibetan--so that research may be conducted on the original literature. Students also learn English and Japanese to keep up-to-date on developments taking place abroad. Although all the courses focus on Buddhism, students are not required to be Buddhists or take part in religious activities.
There are dozens of such institutions in Taiwan providing university- or graduate-level education on Buddhism and other religions. A few of them, such as the CHIBS, define themselves as academic institutes. Others aim at nourishing clergymen or missionaries, such as the Faculty of Theology, which was founded by the Jesuits in Shanghai in 1929. It moved to the Philippines in 1952, and relocated to Taiwan in 1967 when it was annexed to Fu Jen Catholic University (although it is financially and administratively independent from the university). With the approval of the Congregation for Catholic Education, the faculty has the authority to bestow on its students the academic degrees of baccalaureate, licentiate, and doctorate in Sacred Theology and Religious Sciences.
Louis Gendron S.J., vice president of Fu Jen Catholic University and former dean of the Faculty of Theology, explains that the faculty has a different educational goal from the university, and thus has a different student base. "We presume that those who apply to the faculty are already members of our church," he says. "They're here to further cultivate the Sacred disciplines and the sciences related to them so they can become better-trained for evangelical work."
Whether these religious institutions aim to nourish church members or offer academic study, they possess a system similar to regular universities or graduate schools. For example, students are required to complete a certain number of credits and present a thesis for graduate programs. At times, the requirements are even more stringent than secular programs. CHIBS students must complete thirty-six credits rather than the twenty-eight required by the Ministry of Education (MOE), they are also required to take non-credit courses in several foreign languages.
Students of these schools must also display a stronger moral character than those from secular institutions. But regardless of how strict their academic standards are, or how morally demanding, these schools are not recognized by the government as a part of the formal education system. Currently, they may register either with the MOE as a religious research organization or with the Ministry of the Interior as a religious group.
This bit of bureaucratic detail has actually worked to their advantage. These institutions are not required to have five hectares of campus land or offer a deposit of NT$200 million (US$5.8 million) necessary to establish a university. In addition, they are permitted to narrow their focus on one religion instead of offering a range for students to choose from. They may also set restrictions on applicants' religious beliefs and require students to participate in religious activities, while neither is allowed in secular schools.
Not being recognized as a formal school, however, has its disadvantages. Graduates, no matter how hard they have studied, do not earn a government-accredited degree. "Someone who has completed a degree in English literature, for example, is accredited as a bachelor of English literature," Gendron says. "But someone who has completed a university-level education in theology is officially still considered a high-school graduate."
The question is what difference this makes. "Psychologically, a government-accredited degree is considered by many as a confirmation of completing a certain level of education," Gendron says. "In the real world, a government-accredited degree makes a whole lot of difference in finding a government or teaching job and in determining your salary." There is something of a double standard at work as Lee Chih-fu points out that the government recognizes degrees in theology or religious sciences offered by certain overseas universities, but not for all local institutions. Students are therefore better off going abroad to earn their degrees in religious studies.
Religious sciences and theology have long been recognized as topics of academic study and a part of the education system in much of the world. But although people in Taiwan enjoy the freedom to follow their religious beliefs and organize activities such as establishing schools, they continue to consider it something of personal faith rather than a serious subject of study. The government has a similar perspective. The 1974 Private School Law stipulates that religion-related studies cannot be required courses, and students should not be forced to take part in religious activities.
Religious groups were baffled by this law. "People talk about a holistic education, which involves the growth of people's intellectual, emotional, social, physical, artistic, creative, and spiritual potentials," Gendron says. "But how can it be holistic if we rule out religion, an important aspect for many people?" The law was later revised to allow private schools to set up departments or graduate institutes of religious studies. In 1988, the Graduate Institute of Religious Studies at Fu Jen Catholic University became the first such institute in Taiwan's formal education system. It offers a two-year program leading to a master's degree in religious sciences. Four years later, Fu Jen set up the island's first department of religious studies. In the following years, National Chengchi University, Chung Yuan Christian University, Fo Guang University, Nanhua University, and several other schools have established either institutes or departments of religious studies.
Different from the CHIBS or the Faculty of Theology, these departments and institutes are recognized as part of the formal education system, and their graduates are granted government-accredited degrees. But being recognized also means that these departments and institutes must abide by relevant laws and regulations. For example, they must follow the Enforcement Rules of the Private School Law, which requires universities to offer studies on a variety of different religions instead of a single one. In other words, religious studies departments in Catholic or Christian universities must also offer classes in Buddhism or traditional Chinese folk religions, while students in a Buddhist college may need to spend many hours studying the Holy Bible.
Another problem not exclusive to religious studies is that of finding qualified faculty and being able to best utilize their talents. Gendron indicates that this is a sensitive issue because of the specialized knowledge required in the different levels of a school, from the department/institution level to the college and university levels. Institutes or schools specializing in a specific religion do not have this problem because the requirements of the faculty are more clearly defined.
Being part of the government system also opens up the problem of having to accept a broader student base, one that includes those who may be unsuitable for the topic of study. When Fu Jen's Department of Religious Studies was first established, students were admitted through the Joint University Entrance Examination, offering everyone a fair chance for entry. But when scores decide admission, it also creates a situation whereby some students entered fields of study that did not necessarily interest them but they pursued because test scores allowed them to. "In the first year, we had one Catholic, two Christians, and several Buddhists in a class of fifty," Gendron recalls. "More than half of the class didn't have any religious belief or much enthusiasm for religious studies, which made it very difficult for the teachers."
The situation has gradually changed. Thanks to adjustments in the college-entrance regulations, high-school students can now apply to the departments they are interested in instead of taking the joint examination. Gendron points out that applicants' enthusiasm in religious studies is one of the key criteria as to whether they are admitted. In the new semester, about a third to a quarter of the department's freshmen are enrolled through this channel, which is progress from the 1988 class.
Allowing religious studies departments and institutes in the formal education system represents progress in Taiwan's religious education, but it does not solve the problem for those "informal" schools offering studies in a single religion. Late last year, the MOE organized a special committee consisting of government officials, scholars, and people from different religious associations to evaluate the possibility of recognizing these schools. But according to the ministry's Department of Higher Education, progress is still in the early stages and as yet, there is no set timetable.
The difficulty is that the educational goals of these institutes will not allow them to revise curriculums and policies to meet the current laws and regulations. A theological college, for example, will not likely excuse its students from participating in religious ceremonies since the school was established to nourish clergymen. In other words, whether and when these institutes are recognized by the MOE depends on how and when laws and regulations are revised. And given the current pace of Taiwan's legislative process, the ministry is correct in stating that there is no timetable for progress.
But all is not hopeless. A growing number of people are realizing that religious education is personally beneficial, and their attitude toward religious studies is also changing. "Walking around the campus, people no longer feel it's strange that some professors and students are teaching or studying religions," Gendron says. "To me, this means people have begun to recognize that religion is a topic that should be studied rather than merely a belief."
The walk from church to classroom is still long, but the path is straight and getting shorter.