Abstract:
The study of The Commodification of the Belief in Bia Kae : a Case Study of Bia Kae of Wat Klang Bang Kaew, Nakorn Chai Si District, Nakorn Pathom Province is a qualitative research of which the researcher participated in the activities within the communities adjacent to Wat Klang Bang Kaew and in the activities of Bia Kae of Wat Klang Bang Kaews believers around the cubicle of Luang Pu Juea Piyaseelo. This research intends to discover the main characteristic of the belief in Bia Kaeby studying the context of the Thai society which has influenced the creation and the evolution of the belief in Bia Kaeand how the belief in Bia Kae has been commoditized. The study found that the belief in Bia Kaes attribute has different features, depending on the era in which social structure and social context has influenced the attribute. The belief in Bia Kae reflects both the believers want and the social context at the time. As for the globalization context, the belief in Bia Kaehaving undergone the process of signification and gained societal faith for a long timehas been developed as commodity in order to respond to the peoples need, both at the individual level and the group of people living under the pressure of social structure and social context which is capitalistic and consumeristic in nature. Such development illustrates the commoditization of the belief in Bia Kae, which involved the process of production, marketing and sustainment of belief.