Abstract
The study aims to explore the experiences of Taiwanese Christians’ conversion, i.e., the reason why they wanted to adopt a minor religion under dominating Taiwanese cultural context, and the process of their transformative learning. There are many conflicting concepts between Christianity and the Chinese Folk Religion which constitute as a part of Taiwanese culture. Therefore, conversion can be seen as a cross-cultural behavior. However, most of the conversion researches in Taiwan have focused on sociological perspectives and were relatively short of psychological aspects. This study is a qualitative research in which five first-generation Christians from different denominations were interviewed. The Mezirow’s Transformative Learning is the main formal theory and analytic framework. The results showed that the prevailed practices of following the traditional rituals without knowing the reason was the underlying factor that triggered conversion behaviors. However, the new religious thought gave individuals a chance to search a better meaning of experience. In addition, social network also prompted the conversion. Secondly, the process of conversion included reflection of life meaning, social support, and facing the conflict from being a Christian within the family which played a crucial role for individual transformation. Finally, based on the different conditions during the process of religious change, four stages of conversion were illustrated.