Jérémy Jammes

Divination and Politics in Southern Vietnam: Roots of Caodaism

Caodaism is a Vietnamese religious movement that appeared in colonial Cochinchina in the 1920s. What are the sociological roots of Caodaism? The author attempts to answer this question through an analysis of the Caodaist networks that developed in the early 20th century in Cochinchina. Setting out some ethnographic materials concerning the Chinese Minh religions, the author focuses on only one of the five Minh religions in Vietnam, called Minh Lý (“Enlightened Reason”). He sheds new light on the esoteric roots of Caodaism, on the political regulation of the religious sphere and, finally, on the religious and political map of Southern Vietnam. Le mouvement religieux vietnamien Cao Đài fait son apparition dans la Cochinchine des années 1920. Mais quelles sont les racines sociologiques du caodaïsme ? C’est au travers d’une analyse des réseaux de ce mouvement dans les sphères politiques et religieuses du 20ème siècle que l’auteur entend apporter des éléments de réponse. Triant ses matériaux ethnographiques concernant les religions chinoises dites Minh, il se concentre sur une de ces religions au Vietnam, Minh Lý (“Raison illuminée”). Il met en lumière le rôle des réseaux ésotériques aussi bien que le processus de régulation politique du religieux dans notre appréhension de la carte religieuse et politique du Sud du Vietnam.

Se convertir et re-convertir au Ratanakiri (Cambodge). À propos du pentecôtisme en contexte pluriethnique et plurilinguistique

Cambodian society, which is mainly Khmer and Buddhist, faces an inevitable diversification of its religious landscape. With one-third of its population below the poverty line, Cambodia has become a favoured target of Pentecostal churches with their salvation theology. The author will focus on analyzing both the temporary and structural limits of the penetration mode of Foursquare Church into Ratanakiri, a multiethnic and multilinguistic province in north-eastern Cambodia. The socialization, various types of proselytism and conversion trajectories performed by this Pentecostal church all reveal different facets of how to study the individuation process and the adaptation of the initial signs of this religious identity group (speaking in tongues, preaching, etc.).

A Moral Economy in Motion: The Dynamics and Limitations of a Pentecostal Alternative Society in Cambodia

Evangelical Protestantism was introduced to Cambodia in 1923. In the early 1990s, it experienced an exponential growth in membership and development. This chapter presents an ethnographic observation of the modes of socialization and organization and types of proselytism performed by the Foursquare Church in northeastern Cambodia. This examination allows an understanding of how this Pentecostal church proposed an alternative society, based on a specific moral economy. The chapter zooms in on the nature, character, expression, and trajectories of the conversion, self-reflexivity, and religious commitment of certain members and pastors. Through this line of inquiry, the study attempts to answer a fundamental research question: What kind of transformation does Pentecostal conversion provide to the daily lives of its followers?