Irreligion in China
According to a 2012 Gallup poll, 47% of Chinese people were convinced atheists, and a further 30% were not religious. In comparison, only 14% considered themselves to be religious.[9] More recently, a 2015 Gallup poll found the number of convinced atheists in China to be 61%, with a further 29% saying that they are not religious compared to just 7% who are religious.[10]
Since 1978, the constitution provides for religious freedom: "No state organ, public organization or individual may compel citizens to believe in, or not to believe in, any religion; nor may they discriminate against citizens because they do, or do not believe in religion" (article 36). The Chinese state officially recognizes five religions - Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism, and Protestantism - managed by the State Administration for Religious Affairs of the United Front Work Department.[11][12]
History
While in modern history, the
China is considered to be a nation with a long history of humanism, secularism, and this-worldly thought since the time of Confucius,[17][19] who stressed shisu (世俗 "being in the world"). Hu Shih stated in the 1920s that "China is a country without religion and the Chinese are a people who are not bound by religious superstitions."[20]
In the 19th century, after China's defeat in the First Opium War and in successive wars, the country succumbed to increasing domination by foreign imperialist powers. The Boxers (or the Yihetuan) considered Christian missionaries as promoting foreign influence in China and held deep anti-Christian views. Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant missionaries and church members were massacred.[citation needed]
In the 1920s, the
During the Cultural Revolution, a radical policy of anti-religion and anti-tradition was instituted. In the ensuing decade, the five major religions in China were severely suppressed. Many religious organizations were disbanded, property was confiscated or damaged, monks and nuns were sent home (or killed in violent
Since the
See also
- Antireligious campaigns of the Chinese Communist Party
- Chinese folk religion
- Heterodox teachings (Chinese law)
- Freedom of religion in China
- Religion in China
Notes
- ^ CFPS 2014 surveyed a sample of 13,857 families and 31,665 individuals.[2]: 27, note 4 As noted by Katharina Wenzel-Teuber of China Zentrum, German institute for research on religion in China, compared to CFPS 2012, CFPS 2014 asked the Chinese about personal belief in certain conceptions of divinity (i.e. "Buddha", "Tao", "Allah", "God of the Christians/Jesus", "Heavenly Lord of the Catholics") rather than membership in a religious group.[2]: 27 It also included regions, such as those in the west of China, that were excluded in CFPS 2012,[2]: 27, note 3 and unregistered Christians.[2]: 28 For these reasons, she concludes that CFPS 2014 results are more accurate than 2012 ones.
- Taoist clergy. CFPS 2014 found that a further 0.81% declared that they belonged to the popular sects, while CFPS 2012 found 2.2%, and CGSS 2006-2010 surveys found an average 3% of the population declaring that they belonged to such religions, while government estimates give higher figures (see the "statistics" section of the present article).
- ^ CFPS 2014 surveyed predominantly people of Han ethnicity. This may have resulted in an underestimation of Muslims. CGSS 2006–2010 surveys found an average 2-3% of the population of China declaring to be Muslim.
References
- ^ For China Family Panel Studies 2014 survey results see release #1 (archived) and release #2 (archived). The tables also contain the results of CFPS 2012 (sample 20,035) and Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) results for 2006, 2008 and 2010 (samples ~10.000/11,000). Also see, for comparison, 卢云峰:当代中国宗教状况报告——基于CFPS(2012)调查数据 (CFPS 2012 report), The World Religious Cultures, issue 2014. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 August 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
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: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) p. 13, reporting the results of the CGSS 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2011, and their average (fifth column of the first table). - ^ a b c d e Wenzel-Teuber, Katharina. "Statistics on Religions and Churches in the People's Republic of China – Update for the Year 2016" (PDF). Religions & Christianity in Today's China. VII (2): 26–53. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 July 2017.
- ^ "Map: These are the world's least religious countries". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2015-12-24.
- ^ Briggs, David (2011-01-22). "Study: Rising Religious Tide in China Overwhelms Atheist Doctrine". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
- ^ a b French, Howard (2007-03-03). "Religious surge in once-atheist China surprises leaders". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-11-25.
- Washington Post. Retrieved 2013-11-25.
- ^ "Party's secret directives on how to eradicate religion and ensure the victory of atheism". Asian News. Retrieved 2013-11-25.
- ^ "China announces "civilizing" atheism drive in Tibet". BBC. 1999-01-12. Retrieved 2013-11-25.
- ^ "Global Index of Religiosity and Atheism" (PDF). Gallup. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-08-02. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
- ^ "Losing our religion? Two thirds of people still claim to be religious" (PDF). Gallup. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-04-30. Retrieved 2015-04-17.
- ISBN 978-1-86395-591-1.
- ^ Joske, Alex (May 9, 2019). "Reorganizing the United Front Work Department: New Structures for a New Era of Diaspora and Religious Affairs Work". Jamestown Foundation. Archived from the original on July 21, 2019. Retrieved 2019-07-27.
- ^ Phil Zuckerman. Atheism and Secularity. ABC-CLIO, 2009. p. 213
- ^ Herbert Fingarette, Confucius: The Secular as Sacred (New York: Harper, 1972).
- ISBN 978-0-19-518835-6.
...humanist philosophies such as Confucianism, which do not share a belief in divine law and do not exalt faithfulness to a higher law as a manifestation of divine will
- ^ Wing-tsit Chan (1963), A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Zhu Xi, Ch. 11, # 127, pg. 643
- ^ Mark Juergensmeyer. Religion in Global Civil Society. Oxford University Press, 2005. p. 70, quote: «[...] humanist philosophies such as Confucianism, which do not share a belief in divine law and do not exalt faithfulness to a higher law as a manifestation of divine will [...]».
- ISBN 1577660102
- sacralises the secular".[18]
- ^ Yong Chen, 2012. p. 127
- ^ a b The Anti-Christian Movement
- ^ Hodous, Lewis The Anti-Christian Movement in China
- ^ Cohen, Paul A. The Anti-Christian Tradition in China
- ^ Liu, Peng (2005-02-01). "Changing Chinese Attitudes Toward Religion and Culture: A Comparative Perspective" (PDF). Center for Northeast Asian Policy Studies, The Brookings Institution: 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04.
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Officials in Beijing hope Mazu will help them in a different way. The United Front Work Department, the Communist Party branch with the job of boosting China's influence abroad, views the goddess as a tool to win Taiwanese hearts and minds. Mazu—or Lin Moniang, as she was known before becoming a goddess—hailed from a small fishing village on the island of Meizhou in the province of Fujian. Today worshippers make pilgrimages to her ancestral temple there. That is useful to China, which has been supporting Mazu-related cultural exchanges with Taiwan since the late 1990s. Local offices of the United Front talk openly of using Mazu to "strengthen Taiwan's patriotic unification force". If they can turn Taiwan's love of Mazu into love of the motherland, that would make it easier to peacefully bring Taiwan back under the mainland's rule.
- from the original on June 16, 2023. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
In 2011 Mr Xi urged officials to "make full use" of Mazu to woo Taiwanese, most of whom have ancestral ties with the mainland.