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The Religion of Falun Gong . BENJAMIN PENNY . Chicago and London : University of Chicago Press , 2012. xiii + 262 pp. $45.00; £29.00. ISBN 978-0-226-65501-7
Book Reviews
Academic interest in falun gong has been primarily concerned with falun gong as a social movement, while broadly being understood as one school within the larger "qigong fever" of the reform era. Penny's book is the first academic study to take an interest in the teachings, which form the core of its doctrine. By choosing his title, Penny lays out his stall: his book makes the argument that based on its doctrines, practices and the activities of its practitioners, falun gong should be regarded a religion, even though this label is rejected by falun gong practitioners and its founder, Li Hongzhi.
The book starts with a hugely informative opening chapter reminding the reader of the social context from which falun gong emerged and the very short period of time (seven years) that lapsed between first making itself noticed among the myriads of qigong practices flourishing in China and its ban. In this chapter Penny also introduces China's religious policy, which is an important factor in his central argument. For Penny, Li's rejection of the religious label needs to be understood in the very specific context of Chinese religious policy; but outside observers must adopt a different set...