公共宗教與社會運動：以香港天主教的社群組織活動作為研究個案

公共宗教對現代社會發展有正面的影響，理由是其「公共性」面向促使它介入公共領域，並透過關注社會事務提昇公眾利益。這種宗教特性亦有利於建構公民社會和民主制度。同樣，美國社會學家Richard Wood在「以信仰為基礎的社群組織活動」理論中提出，有些宗教組織比一般專注傳教的信仰團體較著重社會實踐，以追求社會公義、人權、自由等價值為己任，積極參與社會運動，推動民主發展。本文以香港天主教正義和平委員會作為研究對象，並以《基本法》第二十三條立法為個案，探討公共宗教在民主運動中所扮演的角色。本文的研究發現是香港天主教的社群組織活動能為社會運動注入重要元素。當中包括提供從下而上表達意見的渠道、提供促進民主發展所需的資源、教育市民認識及關心社會議題、創造及強化社會資本和提供道德框架。在結論部份，筆者為理論中少有論述的某些具體情況予以補充，例如在創造社會資本時所遇到的困難，以及媒體對社會運動的影響。

關鍵字

公共宗教；天主教；以信仰爲基礎的社群組織活動；社會運動；社會資本；廿三條立法

並列摘要

Public religions have a positive effect on the development of modern societies because their publicity enables them to enter the public sphere and advance the public interest by paying attention to different social issues. This kind of religious characteristic also favours building civil society and a democratic system. In his theory of faith-based community organizing, the American sociologist, Richard Wood, states that some religious organizations are different from churches which focus on preaching work. They promote values such as justice, human rights and equality, and actively participate in social movements in order to foster democratization. This article examines the role of public religion in social movements through the implementation of Article 23 of the Hong Kong Basic Law, and the role of the Justice and Peace Commission of the Hong Kong Catholic Diocese. The research finds that Catholic-based community organizing provides essential elements for social movements, including upward linkage in the public sphere and resources advancing democratization, educating people about social issues, building and strengthening social capital, and providing symbolic resources. The author shows a concrete situation in the difficulties confronted by the organization when building social capital and the effect of the mass media in the social movement.