Religion in China

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Jing'an Temple in downtown Shanghai.

Religion in China has varied widely since the beginning of Chinese history. Temples of many different religions dot China's landscape, including Taoism, Buddhism, and Chinese folk religion.

The study of religion in China is complicated by several factors. Because many Chinese belief systems have concepts of a sacred and sometimes spiritual world yet do not invoke a concept of God, classifying a Chinese belief system as either a religion or a philosophy can be problematic. Although Taoism clearly developed a religious organization with priests, monks and temples, Confucianism remained chiefly an intellectual pursuit.

Moreover, the Chinese religions, unlike many Western religions, are not organizations that demand the exclusive adherence of members. Chinese people may visit Buddhist temples while living according to Taoist principles and participating in local ancestor worship rituals.

Major forms of religion that developed within China include ancestor worship, Chinese folk religion, shamanism, Taoism and the veneration of localized deities. Most Chinese have a conception of heaven and yin and yang. Many Chinese have also believed in such practices as astrology, Feng Shui, and geomancy.

Historically, the emperor was regarded as the Son of Heaven, and he typically led the imperial court in performing elaborate annual rituals. He was not believed to be a deity, but rather someone who mediated between the forces of heaven and earth. A central idea of the dynastic cycle was that an unjust imperial dynasty that had lapsed into corruption could lose the Mandate of Heaven and be overthrown by a rebellion.

Minority Abrahamic faiths introduced from abroad include Islam, Judaism, and Christianity.

Heaven worship

The "official" orthodox faith system ascribed to by most dynasties of China until the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty is a worship of "Heaven" as an omnipotent force. This faith system pre-dated the development of Taoism or the introduction of Buddhism and Islam. It has features of a monotheism in that Heaven is seen as an omnipotent entity, endowed with personality but no corporeal form. "Heaven" as a supernatural force was variously referred to as Shang Di (literally Emperor Above) or Huang Tian Shang Di (Sagely Heaven, Emperor Above). Worship of Heaven includes the erection of shrines, the last and greatest being the Altar of Heaven in Beijing, and the offering of prayers. Manifestation of the powers of Heaven include the weather and natural disasters. Especially evil people were believed to be killed by Heaven through lightning, with their crimes inscribed on their (burnt) spines.

Although it gradually diminished in popular belief after the advent of Buddhism and Taoism, among others, some of its concepts remained in use throughout the pre-modern period. These concepts include the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor's role as Son of Heaven, and the legitimate overthrow of a dynasty when its "mandate" ended. As a result, the worship of Heaven remained the official cult or religion of Chinese empires. Emperors who favoured Taoism or Buddhism and neglected the worship of Heaven were seen as anomalous. Elements were also incorporated into Chinese folk religion. Execution by lightning, for example, became one of the roles of the thunder gods. The concept of the almighty Heaven remained in popular expressions. Where an Anglophone would say "Oh my God", a Chinese person might say "Oh Heaven" ("老天！" or "天哪！").

Buddhism

Main article: Buddhism in China

Buddhism was introduced from India during the Han dynasty and has been very popular among Chinese of all walks of life, admired by commoners, and sponsored by emperors. Buddhism today has grown quite popular as well as gaining support from the government more than any other religion in China. It is the largest organised faith in the country. Estimates of the number of Buddhists in China range from 280 million to 350 million, from 20 - 25% percent of the Chinese population.

Taoism

Main article: Taoism

Taoism is the organized, indigenous religion of China and is traditionally dated to 142 C.E. with the founding of the Way of the Celestial Masters by Zhang Daoling. Taoist religion builds on earlier concepts found in classic wisdom text known as the Way and Its Power or Dao De Jing, spelled Tao Te Ching. This work is attributed to Lao Zi, a mythological person who subsequently came to be venerated as a god. The philosophy of Taoism is centered on 'the way', an understanding of which can be likened to recognising the true nature of the universe. Taoism is also considered the folk religion of China.

Islam

Main article: Islam in China

Islam was introduced into China via the Silk Road in the 7th century.

Although data are difficult to obtain, it is now possibly the second-largest organised faith in the country [1] practised by an estimated 3% to 5% of Chinese, predominantly such minority groups as the Hui, the Uyghurs, and the Kazakhs. These make up majorities in Ningxia and Xinjiang Autonomous Regions.

Christianity

Main article: Christianity in China

For a discussion of an Asian christology pertaining to the approach of worship in China taken into the Chinese culture and mindset, refer to Integration_of_church_and_culture_in_China or [[2]]

Some consider the first entry of Christianity into China was the introduction of Nestorianism spread by European or Middle-Eastern travellers who came to China in AD 635, as documented by the Nestorian Stone in Xi'an.

In 1289, Franciscan friars from Europe initiated mission work in China. This mission collapsed in 1368, as the Ming Dynasty abolished Christianity in China.

The first Jesuit attempt to reach China was made in 1552 by Francis Xavier, but he died the same year on the Chinese island of Shangchuan, without having reached the mainland. In 1582, Jesuits once again initiated mission work in China, introducing Western science, mathematics, and astronomy. One of these missionaries was Matteo Ricci.

In the early 18th century, the Chinese Rites controversy, a dispute within the Catholic Church, arose over whether Chinese folk religion rituals and offerings to the emperor constituted idolatry.

Robert Morrison, regarded among Protestants as being the first Christian missionary to China arrived in Macao on 4th September, 1807. Morrison produced a Chinese translation of the Bible. He also compiled a Chinese dictionary for the use of westerners. The Bible translation took twelve years and the compilation of the dictionary, sixteen years.

During the 1840s, Western missionaries spread Christianity rapidly through the coastal cities that were open to foreign trade; the Taiping Rebellion was connected in its origins to the missionary activity.

The missionary Hudson Taylor has been called one of the most significant figures in Chinese history in the 1800's - native or foreign. The China Inland Mission was the largest mission agency in China and it is estimated that Taylor was responsible for more people being converted to Christianity than at any other time since Paul the Apostle brought Christian teaching to Europe. It was Dixon Edward Hoste, the successor to Hudson Taylor, who originally expressed the self-governing principles of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement, at the time he was articulating the goal of the The China Inland Mission to establish an indigenous Chinese church that was free from foreign control.

British and American denominations, such as the British Methodist Church, continued to send missionaries until they were prevented from doing so following the establishment of the People's Republic of China. Protestant missionaries played an extremely important role in introducing knowledge of China to the United States and the United States to China. The book The Small Woman and film Inn of the Sixth Happiness tell the story of one such missionary, Gladys Aylward.

The Rev. Young John Allen, another Methodist missionary from the United States, also helped to spread knowledge of the West in China through his various Chinese-language newspapers. His publications, including 'The Church News', ran from 1868-1907. His most famous paper was the monthly 'Wan Guo Gong Bao', or 'A Review of the Times,' which discussed international politics, economic theory, the possibilities for reform in China and the repercussions of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895. Contributors to the 'Review' included Western missionaries, Chinese converts and Allen himself. Although much of his papers' subject matter was secular, the writings had a decidedly Protestant Christian slant as it was his goal to convert China to Christianity.

Missionaries in China opposed the Opium trade and rescued addicts from lives of hopelessness. They established schools, hospitals, orphanages, and as well as churches. Despite efforts by such large agencies as the China Inland Mission to reflect Chinese cultural sensitivities, some foreign groups such as the Roman Catholic Church sought for their leaders to exert a political authority. The reaction to this was partly to blame for the anti-foreign Boxer Rebellion of 1900, which claimed many lives of Christians and missionaries.

Since loosening of restrictions on religion after the 1970s, Christianity has grown significantly within the People's Republic. It is still, however, tightly controlled by government authorities. The Three-Self Patriotic Movement and China Christian Council (Protestant) and the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, which has disavowed the Pope and is considered schismatic by other Roman Catholics, have affiliations with government and must follow the regulations imposed upon them. Many Christians choose however to meet independently of these organisations, typically in house churches. These fellowships are not officially registered and are seen as illegal entities and are often persecuted heavily. For this reason some meetings take place underground, coining the term "underground church". These Christians have been persecuted throughout the 20th century, especially during the Cultural Revolution, and there remains some official harassment in the form of arrests and interrogations of Chinese Christians. At the same time, there has been increasing tolerance of house churches since the late 1970s.

Chinese Christian Brother Yun's book "The Heavenly Man" achieved the Christian Book of the Year award in 2003. The book describes Yun's life from his call to preach the gospel across China and the enlargement of the house church movement.

Estimates of Christians in China are difficult to obtain because of the numbers of Christians unwilling to reveal their beliefs, the hostility of the national government towards some Christian sects, and difficulties in obtaining accurate statistics on house churches. However, some analysts have estimated the number of adherents to be about 4% of the Chinese population.

See also: Protestantism in China, Catholicism in China, Chinese house church and Persecution of Christians.

Judaism

Main article: Judaism in China

During the Tang Dynasty (7-10 cent. CE) or earlier, small groups of Jews settled in China. The most prominent early community was at Kaifeng, in Henan province. (see Kaifeng Jews) In the 20th century, many Jews arrived in Hong Kong and Shanghai during those cities' periods of economic expansion in the first decades of the century, as well as for the purpose of seeking refuge from the Holocaust in Western Europe. Shanghai was particularly notable for its volume of Jewish refugees, most of whom left after the war, the rest relocating prior to or immediately after the establishment of the People's Republic. Today, the Kaifeng Jewish community is functionally extinct. Many descendants of the Kaifeng community still live among the Chinese population, mostly unaware of their Jewish ancestry. Meanwhile, remnants of the later arrivals maintain communities in Shanghai and Hong Kong. In recent years a community has also developed in Beijing.

More recently, since the late 20th century, along with the study of religion in general, the study of Judaism and Jews in China as an academic subject has begun to blossom.

Two of the best-known international immigrants in the history of the PRC, Israel Epstein and Sidney Shapiro, were Jewish.

Recent sects

Falun Gong

Main article: Falun Gong

Way of Former Heaven

Main article: Way of Former Heaven

1. I-Kuān Tao ("Way of Unity")
2. T'ung-shan She ("Society of Goodness")
3. Tien-te Sheng-chiao ("Sacred Religion of Celestial Virtue")
4. Tao-yuan ("Sanctuary of the Tao")
5. Tz'u-hui Tang ("Compassion Society")

The People's Republic of China

The People's Republic of China was established in 1949 and for much of its early history maintained a hostile attitude toward religion which was seen as emblematic of feudalism and foreign colonialism. Houses of worship, including temples, mosques, and churches, were converted into non-religious buildings for secular use.

In the early years of the People's Republic, religious belief or practice was often discouraged because it was regarded by the government as backwards and superstitious and because some Communist leaders, ranging from Vladimir Lenin to Mao Zedong, had been critical of religious institutions. During the Cultural Revolution, religion was condemned as feudalistic and thousands of religious buildings were looted and destroyed.

This attitude, however, relaxed considerably in the late 1970s, with the end of the Cultural Revolution. The 1978 Constitution of the People's Republic of China guarantees "freedom of religion" with a number of restrictions. In practice, the Communist Party of China will react harshly against groups such as Falun Gong which it perceives as challenging its authority while in general ignoring groups that are not seen as challenging the state. Since the mid-1990s there has been a massive program to rebuild Buddhist temples that were destroyed in the Cultural Revolution.

The Communist Party has said that religious belief and membership are incompatible. Party membership is a necessity for many high level careers and posts. That along with other official hostility makes statistical reporting on religious membership difficult. There are five recognized religions by the state, Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholic Christianity, and Protestant Christianity.

Most people report no organized religious affiliation; however, belief in folk traditions and non-religious spiritual beliefs, such as ancestor worship and feng shui, along with informal ties to local temples and unofficial house churches is in the hundreds of millions. The United States Department of State, in its annual report on International Religious Freedom [3], gives possibly the most reliable statistics about organized religions. In 2004 it reports the following:

• Buddhists 8%, with more than 200,000 monks and nuns. This value is seen as extremely low because there are more than 16,000 Buddhist temples that do not maintain traditional congregations.
• Taoists, unknown as a percentage, there are more than 25,000 Taoist monks and nuns at more than 1,500 temples. Taoist belief is often intertwined with both Buddhism and traditional folk religions.
• Muslims, 1.4%, with more than 45,000 Imams. Other estimates are much higher.
• Protestant Christians, 1.2% with official churches. It is estimated that another 2.5% of the population is a Protestant Christian worshipping through an unofficial house church.
• Catholic Christians, 0.4% with official churches, and the Vatican claims up to another 0.8% who are Catholics attending Catholic services at underground churches.

See also

• Ancestor worship
• fengshui
• Chinese folk religion
• Hinduism in China
• Opium of the people - Communism view on religion as inspired by Karl Marx

External links

• http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2004/35396.htm - United States Department of State 2004 International Religious Freedom Report on China, including supplements on Hong Kong and Macau
• Surveys/analyses of religious freedom in China by Forum 18 News Service
• The Sleeping Giant awakes: China reconsiders the need for spirituality to balance scientific development and consumerism, Science & Theology News
• The American School of Classical Feng Shui