On how religions could accidentally incite lies and violence: folktales as a cultural transmitter

Quan-Hoang Vuong1,2, Manh-Tung Ho3,1,4, Hong-Kong T. Nguyen3,1, Thu-Trang Vuong5, Trung Tran6, Khanh-Linh Hoang7, Thi-Hanh Vu8, Phuong-Hanh Hoang9, Minh-Hoang Nguyen3, Manh-Toan Ho1, Viet-Phuong La1
1Centre for Interdisciplinary Social Research, Phenikaa University, Ha Dong, Vietnam
2Centre Emile Bernheim, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Bruxelles, Belgium
3Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Oita Prefecture, Beppu City, Japan
4Institute of Philosophy, Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, Lang Ha, Vietnam
5Ecole doctorale, Sciences Po Paris, Paris, France
6Vietnam Academy for Ethnic Minorities, Hanoi, Vietnam
7Institute of Theoretical and Applied Research (ITAR), Duy Tan University, Hanoi, Vietnam
8School of Economics and International Business, Foreign Trade University, Hanoi, Vietnam
9Vietnam National Institute of Educational Sciences, Hanoi, Vietnam

Tóm tắt

Folklore has a critical role as a cultural transmitter, all the while being a socially accepted medium for the expressions of culturally contradicting wishes and conducts. In this study of Vietnamese folktales, through the use of Bayesian multilevel modeling and the Markov chain Monte Carlo technique, we offer empirical evidence for how the interplay between religious teachings (Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism) and deviant behaviors (lying and violence) could affect a folktale’s outcome. The findings indicate that characters who lie and/or commit violent acts tend to have bad endings, as intuition would dictate, but when they are associated with any of the above Three Teachings, the final endings may vary. Positive outcomes are seen in cases where characters associated with Confucianism lie and characters associated with Buddhism act violently. The results supplement the worldwide literature on discrepancies between folklore and real-life conduct, as well as on the contradictory human behaviors vis-à-vis religious teachings. Overall, the study highlights the complexity of human decision-making, especially beyond the folklore realm.

Từ khóa


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