The Politics of Religion in
China
Mercy A. Kuo August 04, 2016
The Diplomat
What is the role of religion in China from
the perspectives of the Chinese government and communities of
faith?
The official position of the Chinese Communist
Party-State on religion is based on Marxist-Leninist-Maoist
atheism, which believes that religion will die out when social
conditions develops sufficiently. At the current stage of social
development, however, religion persists because of social and
psychological reasons. Since the 1990s, the Communist Party-State
has affirmed that religion could have both positive and negative
social functions. It may contribute to society through charity
services as well as teachings that provide spiritual solace and
moral guidance to ordinary people. Nonetheless, religion is the
opium of the people that may lead people to anti-social beliefs and
may be used by adversary forces for political causes. The
Party-State insists that Communist Party members must be atheists,
atheist education must be carried out through the education system
and mass media, and political control over religious organizations
is necessary to ensure political and social stability.
The perspectives of faith communities on the role of
religion are of course different from that of the Party-State.
Although different religions have different perspectives, overall
they believe that religious faith is beneficial to individual
believers and society by providing a moral basis for society and
moral guidance to individuals.
Which religions are most prevalent and what
does the growth of religion reveal about Chinese
society?
The Communist Party-State allows five religions to
operate legally if they join one of
the “patriotic” associations: Buddhism, Daoism, Islam,
Catholicism, and Protestant Christianity. There are also faith
communities of these five religions that operate illegally in the
underground (banned by the government) or operate in the gray area
of legality without joining a “patriotic” association
(tolerated without official approval). There are also believers and
practitioners of many other religions. Among the Han majority
people, Buddhism and Christianity are prevalent. Nearly 20 percent
of the adult population self-identify with Buddhism, even though
very few of them have formally joined any Buddhist organization.
Christianity has been the fastest growing religion in the last
three or four decades, with an annual increase of more than 10
percent. If the Christian growth continues even at a lower
rate of 7 percent per year, China will become the largest Christian
country by the year 2030. Islam in China has become ethnicized
so that few Han Chinese convert to it, but the 10 ethnic
minorities have a significantly large population of more than
22 million.
The revivals of various religions, especially
Christianity, show that the rapid social change has both generated
the social needs and created the social space for religion. As long
as social change continues in the current direction, that is,
increasing urbanization, globalization, and migration, religions
will continue to grow in the foreseeable future.
How do Chinese nationalism and consumerism
affect the practice of religious faith and
congregation?
Chinese nationalism has been on the rise along with
China’s economic development and growing strengths in world
politics. The Communist Party-State has encouraged patriotism mixed
with nationalism. However, religious communities tend to emphasize
the universal nature of their faith. In order to boost patriotism
and nationalism, the Party-State has initiated the policy measures
of infusing patriotic messages in sermons and raising the Chinese
national flag inside churches, temples, and mosques. Some Christian
churches and Muslim mosques have manifested certain levels of
resistance against such measures, whereas Daoist and Buddhist
temples tend to be receptive. Moreover, the Party-State has
engineered the revival of Confucianism, which is not considered a
religion by the authorities but nonetheless has a religious
dimension. The Chinese government has established and funded
several hundred Confucius Institutes in many countries. Within
China, many institutes, associations, and Confucius temples have
been established. A form of radical or fundamentalist Confucianism
manifests strong sentiments of anti-Western and anti-modern
nationalism.
Consumerism has become a social and political issue
to Buddhism, as many Buddhist temples have been tourist sites that
try hard to attract tourists and extract money from them. While
Christian and Buddhist preachers often address consumerism as a
challenge to individuals, I do not find much of a “prosperity
gospel” in China.
Identify three current or emerging salient
religious trends in China.
First, Christianity has been growing fast and begun
to show social significance, such as the emergence of Christian
lawyers courageously fighting for civil and human rights. Although
Chinese Christians tend to be apolitical, their Christian beliefs
and congregational life help to value human dignity and exercise
democratic principles. In the long run, Christian growth in China
will be beneficial to social and political democracy.
Second, Tibetan Buddhism is becoming popular among
Han Chinese in some metropolitan areas, especially among
business people and professionals. These people tend to be
disappointed by the Han Buddhism that is perceived to be
consumerist and corrupt, whereas Tibetan Buddhism is perceived to
be pure and more efficacious.
Third, the Chinese Communist Party has intensified
its fight to cleanse members of religious beliefs, practices, and
commitment. However, this is bound to fail, as the vast majority of
Communist Party members hold some supernatural beliefs or engage in
certain religious or spiritual practices.
What should the next U.S. president
understand about religion’s transformative effect on
China?
Back in the late 1970s, President Jimmy Carter made
some effective appeal to the then Chinese paramount leader Deng
Xiaoping about granting religious freedom to Chinese people. In
order to have economic reforms and opening up to the world, the
Chinese Communist Party-State at that time adopted some modern
norms affirmed by the United Nations. The next U.S. president
should understand that religious freedom is the first freedom among
various freedoms that would lead to human flourishing.
She or he should encourage the Chinese authorities to expand
religious freedom. In order for people to
better understand and appreciate religious freedom, the
president should support American-Chinese dialogues on religious
freedom, not only by government officials, but also by scholars,
religious leaders, and college and graduate students.