A Guideline to Promote the Roles of the Temples in Chombueng District, Ratchaburi Province as the Community Media Centers for Local Wisdom Sharing

Abstract

The purposes of the study aimed to explore the contexts of the temples in Chombueng District, Ratchaburi, together with the roles of the temples, and to propose a guideline to promote the temples’ roles as community media centers for local wisdom sharing. Quantitative research was conducted by using a questionnaire for data collection, with four hundred samples. The data were analyzed by using percentage, mean, frequency, and standard deviation.

Findings revealed that the most frequently visited temple was Wapeesuthawat Temple (16.20 percent), and the main purpose for the visits was to worship the Buddha (21 percent). The engagement of the members in religious activities appeared in form of practitioners sustaining the belief in Buddhism (45 percent), conserving traditional rituals (50.30 percent), and involving in local activities organized in the vicinities of the temples (30 percent). Regarding the temples’ current roles as community media centers for local wisdom sharing, the highest level (71.50 percent) was on the signs of written mottoes decorated around the temples, whereas, the missing role of the temples (41.80 percent) was about no places in the temples assigned for knowledge sharing on professional development. The unclear role (39.80 percent) was related to the use of the temples’ vicinities to organize community meetings or events. In terms of the guideline to promote the role of the temples as community media centers for local wisdom sharing, it was found that a high level ( = 3.97) was on the methods used to promote the roles.