Religion Freedom In China
Students are required to complete 1 short paper. The paper should be about 4-5 pages in length. Papers should be double spaced, 12 point Times New Roman Font, 1 Inch Margins and include a reference sheet (not included in page limit). You must also cite your references in the paper. Please use the APSA citation style. You should also include 4 sources at a minimum. Tables and figures do not count towards the page requirement. Collaboration with other students is not allowed!
Paper Topic: For this paper, pick any country (other than the United States) and discuss the concept of religious freedom in that country. You must consider the following: 1. What does the religious distribution look like in your country? 2. What is the connection between church and state? What role, if any, does religion play in politics? Explain. 3. What does religious freedom look like in your country? Explain? o How are religious groups treated? Is there an official religion? What is it?
China is a multi-religious country consisting of various religions such as Taoism. Buddhism, Islam, Protestantism, and Catholicism. These religions have developed into culture-shaping communities across Chinese history. The freedom of belief is a government policy; hence the constitution does protect religious activities. Many of the Chinese citizens consider religion to be a defining feature in conjunction with their national pride.
Article 36 of the Chinese Constitution that has granted the country’s citizens this freedom has banned religious-based discrimination. It prohibits all state organs and public organizations or persons from forcing its people to believe or not to believe in certain faiths. The State Council passed regulations on religious affairs to allow the state-registered religious organizations to own property, publish literature, train, approve the allergy, and engage in donation collection. These regulations also put restrictions on religious schooling, the times and locations of religious celebrations, online religious activities being monitored, and the duty of making reports for donations surpassing 100000 yuan.
Religious Distribution In China
As of 2019, it was estimated that there are more than 200 million religious adherents in China, with an estimated 5500 religious groups. In 2010, the U.S. Government Estimated that The Buddhists were an estimated 18.2% of the population, Christians are at 5.1%, Islam ate are 1.8%. Those following folk religions are around 21.9% (U.S. Department of State, 2019). The NGO Freedom House would in 2017 state that the country has 350 million religious adherents in 2017. It further stated that 185 to 250 million persons were Chinese Buddhists, 60 to 80 million persons were protestants, Muslims are around 21 to 23 million, Catholics approximately 12 million, Tibetan Buddhists were about 6 to 8 million, approximately 7 to 20 million were practitioners of Falun gong. Many others followed the distinct folk traditions (U.S. Department of State, 2019). The NGO Open Doors, a Christian Advocacy, indicated that there were 97.2 million Christians, with the Jewish population being around 2700 as per the Jewish virtual library. The number of protestants has been estimated to be 38 million (U.S. Department of State, 2019). Notably, it has been indicated that it is difficult to have accurate estimates of the Catholics and protestants, and other faiths due to many adherents exclusively practicing at home or churches that are not state-sanctioned.
The Connection of the Church and China
The leading communist party will grant openness and legitimacy to all groups within China’s civil society, which includes the religious groups, the present regulations on registration and administering of social groups give broad powers to the administrative units if social groups and police legal, social groups under the government’s direct control (Fuzeng, 2003). If the church has received approval and recognition from the government of religious affairs, then they get an extent of practicing using openness and legitimacy. The government has hence made a distinction between the legitimate religion and feudal superstitions and cults. The five major religions are considered legitimate, and the government is opposed to the feudal superstitions and heterodox sects (Fuzeng, 2003). The government has also established “patriotic religious associations” that need to be acknowledged as religious bodies. However, religious associations have helped the party-state implement their religious policy and raise patriotic and social consciousness among ordinary believers.
The Role of Any Religion In Politics
The Chinese Communist Party-state religion has been founded on the Marxist-Leninist-Maoist atheism, which is their official opposition that believes religion will phase out when social conditions are developed sufficiently (Kuo, 2016). The party-state has affirmed that religion has both negative and positive social functions. It may benefit society through charities, teachings of spiritual solace, and moral guidelines for average persons. However, it is also the opium of the individuals such that people could be led to anti-social beliefs that could be used by opposing parties for political causes. Therefore, the party-state indicates that communist party members should be atheists and undertake atheist education (Kuo, 2016). Mass media is being sued for political control over the religious organizations for reasons of avoiding political and social instabilities,
Religious Freedom in China
Notably, while China has regulations to protect religious beliefs, critics have indicated that it has not guaranteed the right to practice or worship. The spiritual practice has limits such that only normal religious activities are allowed, with the term “normal” being left undefined with broad interpretations (Albert & Maizland, 2020). Since the country recognizes five religions: Buddhism, Catholicism, Daoism, Islam, and Protestantism, other faiths have been prohibited, with some being tolerated, such as traditional Chinese beliefs. Religious organizations must register with one of the state-sanctioned patriotic religious associations that are closely monitored by the State Administration for Religious Affairs (Albert & Maizland, 2020).
In 2019, the persecution of religious groups in the country made headlines demonstrate China as a country that is actively interfering with religion in one way or another. This is illustrated by the treatment accorded to Muslim Uyghurs, Christians, and other religious groups (Ochab, 2020). These groups have undergone persistent discrimination and persecution to a level that the global community cannot ignore. There have been reports that the country engages in a forced conversion such that Muslims are being forced to eat port and drink alcohol. Many individuals that have demonstrated any Islamic connections are being detained in re-education camps in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region to undergo political indoctrination sessions.
The Chinese authorities have also sought to monitor and control Christians through encouraging or through force to be part of the state-sanctioned churches affiliated with “patriotic” associations and led by clergy vetted on a political basis (Cook, 2017). The religious leaders and followers who fail to register for theological or practical reasons face the risk of having their worship places shattered, detention, beating, dismissal from their jobs, or imprisoned. Under President Xi Jinping, local authorities increased the efforts of stemming the spread of the Christianity religion, indicating that the “western” values are a threat and that there is a need to “sinicize” religions (Albert & Maizland, 2020). This would entail shaping all beliefs to adhere to the former atheist party’s doctrines and the Han Chinese population’s customs, who are the majority. According to reports from rights, the country also has the highest number of religious prisoners who mostly get tortured murders. The United State Department would classify the country as a nation of particular concern due to the events of arbitrary detentions and violence (Albert & Maizland, 2020).
References
Albert, E., & Maizland, L. (2020). The state of religion in China. Retrieved from https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/religion-china
Cook, S. (2017, March 12). Christianity: Religious freedom in China. Retrieved from https://freedomhouse.org/report/2017/battle-china-spirit-christianity-religious-freedom
Fuzeng, X. (2003). Church-state relations in contemporary China and the development of Protestant Christianity. China Study Journal, 18(3), 27.
Kuo, M. A. (2016, August 5). The politics of religion in China. Retrieved from https://thediplomat.com/2016/08/the-politics-of-religion-in-china/
Ochab, E. U. (2020). Is China Conducting A Crackdown On Religion? Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/ewelinaochab/2019/04/20/is-china-conducting-a-crackdown-on-religion/?sh=7277951119d3
U.S. Department of State (2019). 2019 Report on International Religious Freedom: China (Includes Tibet, Xinjiang, Hong Kong, and Macau). Office of International Religious Freedom. Retrieved from https://www.state.gov/reports/2019-report-on-international-religious-freedom/china/
