Any form of religious activity was prohibited, even as there was forceful promotion of the cult of Mao Zedong , which assumed the role of an officially sanctioned religion. As part of major reforms and a loosening of social controls, initiated in the late s, the party has slowly accepted a range of behaviors and traditions that fulfill religious needs or provide spiritual outlets.
Buddhism, Taoism , Catholicism, Islam and Protestantism — the five officially recognized religions — have staged comebacks, albeit with varying success. There are increasing numbers of local temples, associations, pilgrimages and festivals, and growing numbers of Buddhist, Christian and Taoist clergy. Many religious sites are open for private worship and communal service and frequented by people from all walks of life. Local governments are often keen to restore and promote religious establishments, largely to stimulate tourism and local economic development.
Consequently, a major metropolis such as Shanghai has become home to religious establishments large and small, official and underground. They range from local shrines to Buddhist and Taoist temples, churches and mosques. There are also new entrants to the religious scene, exemplified by the yoga centers that have sprung up in many Chinese cities. It seems that people have welcomed these policy shifts. A study by the Pew Research Center found that The exact data is debatable, and it is difficult to conduct reliable research in China.
It often indicates a user profile. Log out. US Markets Loading H M S In the news. Alexandra Ma. China is increasingly cracking down on Christians, Muslims, and Buddhists.
Authorities are subjecting Muslims to an unprecedented amount of surveillance, shutting down Christian churches, and forcing monks to pledge allegiance to the state. The officially atheist Chinese Communist Party disapproves of all kinds of grassroots organizations as they are seen to undermine its grip on power.
Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Get a daily selection of our top stories based on your reading preferences. Loading Something is loading. Email address. Sign up for notifications from Insider! Stay up to date with what you want to know. Taoism and Confucianism are two examples of philosophical beliefs in China that also carry a religious element.
Aspects of ritual and beliefs about the afterlife exist independently of the philosophies to create religious aspects to some of China's oldest philosophical beliefs. However, this is a difficult number to measure due to the fact that many people practice the rituals and thought patterns of various religions but would not classify themselves as a member of a certain group.
Chinese folk religion is a good example of how the people view religious beliefs as a part of their way of seeing the world without putting a label on it. The folk religion is characterized by broad beliefs in salvation, prayer to ancestors and former leaders, and an understanding of the influence of the natural world.
Religion today is growing in diversity and openness to the worldwide context. No religion has ever assumed a dominant position in China. Foreign religions, influenced by time-honored Chinese Culture and tradition, have gradually become fixtures with distinctive Chinese characteristics. The four major religions in China Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, and Christianity each have a long history of influence. We will discuss each of the following in more detail below. The majority of Buddhist believers are Han Chinese while Buddhist believers in Tibet also make up a sizable portion.
Buddhists make up the largest religious communities in China. See what else we have about Buddhism in China. Taoism is native to China and has a history of more than 1, years. Its founder was Lao Tzu and its doctrines are based on his writings about the Tao or the Way. Taoism is centered on the "three treasures" which are: Humility, Compassion, and Frugality. You are probably already familiar with some of the symbolism of Taoism without even realizing it. Religious activities conducted at the sites, however, must conform to laws and regulations.
China respects the freedom of religious belief of aliens within Chinese territory and protects their friendly contacts and cultural and academic exchanges with Chinese religious circles with respect to religion. Aliens may participate in religious activities at recognized sites for religious activities within Chinese territory. They may also preach at the invitation of Chinese religious bodies at or above the provincial level.
Aliens may hold religious activities attended by aliens at sites approved by people's governments at or above the county level.
They may invite Chinese clerical personnel to conduct such religious rituals as baptisms, weddings, funerals and prayer meetings, and may bring with them printed religious matter, audio-visual religious material and other religious articles for personal use while entering Chinese territory. Aliens who conduct religious activities within Chinese territory shall abide by Chinese laws and regulations.
The legal protection of citizens' right to the freedom of religious belief in China is basically in accordance with the main contents of the concerned international documents and conventions in this respect. According to Chinese law, while all citizens enjoy the right to freedom of religious belief they must also carry out duties prescribed by law.
In China , all individuals and organizations, including all religions, must safeguard the people's interests, the sanctity of the law, ethnic unity and unification of the nation. This is in conformity with the relevant clauses of the UN documents and conventions on human rights. The Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief states: ''Freedom to manifest one's religion or belief may be subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary to protect public safety, order, health or morals or the fundamental rights and freedom of others.
This is a basic requirement for modern civilization and nations subject to the rule of law. Each country has its own history, culture and national conditions, which decide that each country's protection of freedom of religious belief has its own characteristics. While stressing the protection of freedom of religious belief China pays equal attention to the protection of the freedom not to believe in religion, thus ensuring freedom of religious belief in a complete sense.
This is a more complete and more comprehensive protection of citizens' basic rights. The Chinese government maintains that religious belief is a citizen's personal affair. However, the construction of a prosperous, powerful, democratic modern socialist country with advanced culture, and the safeguarding of the country's sovereignty and national dignity are the common goals and in the fundamental interest of Chinese people of all ethnic groups, including those who believe in a religion and those who do not.
Therefore the people who believe in a religion and those who do not can unite and cooperate politically, and respect each other's beliefs.
Religion should be adapted to the society in which it is prevalent. This is a universal law for the existence and development of religion. Now the Chinese people are building China into a modern socialist country with Chinese characteristics. The Chinese government advocates that religion should adapt to this reality.
However, such adaptation does not require citizens to give up religious belief, nor does it require any religion to change its basic doctrines. Instead, it requires religions to conduct their activities within the sphere prescribed by law and adapt to social and cultural progress.
This conforms to the fundamental interests of religious believers as well as to those of the various religions themselves. Nevertheless, since the s some pernicious organizations have sprung up in certain areas of China , which engage in illegal and even criminal activities under the signboard of religion. Some of the heads of these pseudo-religions distort religious doctrines, create heresies, deceive the masses, refuse to obey the State's laws and decrees, and incite people to overthrow the government.
Some pretend to be supernatural beings, and have killed or injured people; others organize promiscuity, or defraud people of money or property. They are a serious danger to the normal life and productive activities of the people. The broad masses of the people and personages of the religious circles detest this phenomenon, and so, in order to safeguard the public interest and the sanctity of the law, and to better protect the people's right to freedom of religious belief and normal religious activities, China's judicial organs punish law-breakers and criminals who severely endanger the society and the public interest in accordance with the law.
The punishment of criminals by China 's judicial organs in accordance with the law has nothing to do with religious belief. No one in China is punished because of his or her religious belief. But no country that practices the rule of law in the world today would tolerate illegal and criminal activities being carried out under the banner of religion.
With respect to judicial guarantee, China stipulates clearly the penalties for the infringement of citizens' right to freedom of religious belief. For instance, Article of the Criminal Law states: ''State personnel who unlawfully deprive citizens of their freedom of religious belief and infringe upon the customs and habits of minority ethnic groups, when the circumstances are serious, are to be sentenced to not more than two years of fixed-term imprisonment or criminal detention.
A people's procuratorate shall also put on record cases of illegally closing or destroying lawful religious sites and other religious facilities.
In recent years the Chinese judiciary, in accordance with the law, has tried several cases of infringing upon relevant laws of the State and seriously hurting the religious feelings of certain believers, and has meted out punishments to persons responsible for the offenses. With respect to administrative guarantee, governments at different levels have set up religious affairs departments to administer and supervise the implementation of the laws and statutes pertaining to religion and to put the policy ensuring the freedom of religious belief into effect.
These departments shall not interfere in the internal affairs of religious organizations and sites. In China religious organizations and sites for religious activities must register with the government in accordance with the law, which is the case in some other countries as well. Applications for such registration must meet the following basic requirements: a permanent site and name; regular attendance; a management organization composed of adherents to the relevant religion; clerical personnel for officiating religious activities or personnel with qualifications stipulated in regulations of various religions; management regulations and lawful income.
Government departments shall defer the registration or only approve temporary registration of religious sites which cannot completely satisfy these basic requirements or have prominent management problems. Government departments shall not permit the registration of, for example, sites for religious activities which illegally occupy land or violate the statutes of city planning, which have been set up without authorization or which promote superstitious activities, such as exorcising evil spirits under the pretext of religious activities.
Once a site for religious activities is registered according to law it has legal status and its lawful rights and interests shall be protected.
If its rights and interests are infringed upon the organization in charge of the site is entitled to seek administrative and legal protection by appealing to the relevant government organ or taking the case to a people's court.
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