Status of religious freedom in People's Republic of China
Encyclopedia
Freedom of religion in the People's Republic of China is provided for by the country's constitution
; however, the Government restricts religious practice to government-sanctioned organizations and registered places of worship
. The constitution forbids religious practices that cause "disruption" or "harm" to society. There are five registered religions: Buddhism
, Taoism
, Islam
, Protestantism
, and Catholicism
.
s. Religious groups are required to register with the State Administration for Religious Affairs
(SARA, formerly known as the central Religious Affairs Bureau) or its provincial and local offices (still known as Religious Affairs Bureaus (RABs)). SARA and the RABs are responsible for monitoring and judging the legitimacy of religious activity. A significant number of non-sanctioned churches
and temples exist, attended by locals and foreigners alike. China does not permit "foreign domination" of religious affairs and religious bodies, due to fears of past colonialism and imperialism on the part of foreign missionaries.
While many associate Chinese government's tight regulation of religious activities to the atheist ideology of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP), such perceived hostility must be understood in the context of the lack of freedom of association under CCP rule. Chinese Communist Party's priority in eliminating all potential threats to its rule necessitates its paranoia of most non-governmental organizations beyond its control. The Party's concern is particularly acute in activities that involve a network of participants. One extreme and bizarre example is the 1998 ban that limited all direct marketing activities, by the likes of Avon and Amway, to retail stores and forbid direct salespersons from organizing home-based sales parties, which were "...seen by authorities as too similar in spirit to political activism." As such religious paranoia
exists, passion or efficiency in proselytizing by any religious sect might bring intense scrutiny and harassment from central government or local authorities.
or the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Associations.
by requiring them to renounce an essential belief in Roman Catholicism, the primacy of the Roman Pontiff. Catholics loyal to the pope currently worship clandestinely, out of fear of imprisonment. The PRC allows only state-approved candidates to be consecrated as bishops, and so-far the Vatican has not recognized the legitimacy of any of their bishops.
, National Committee of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement of the Protestant Churches in China; the Three-Self Church) or "TSPM" is the government-sanctioned ("patriotic") Christian
organization in the People's Republic of China
. Known in combination with the China Christian Council
as the lianghui
, they form the only state-sanctioned ("registered") Protestant church in mainland China
. All other Protestant denominations are illegal.
Chinese house church
es are a religious movement of unregistered assemblies of Christian
s in the People's Republic of China, which operate independently of the government-run Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM) and China Christian Council (CCC) for Protestant groups and the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association (CCPA) and the Chinese Catholic Bishops Council (CCBC) for Catholics. They are also known as the "Underground" Church or the "Unofficial" Church, although this is somewhat of a misnomer as they are collections of unrelated individual churches rather than a single unified church. They are called "house churches" because as they are not officially registered organizations, they cannot independently own property and hence they meet in private houses, often in secret for fear of arrest or imprisonment.
in 1959. In the wake of the takeover and especially during the cultural revolution
many monasteries were destroyed and many monk
s and laypeople killed. The 14th Dalai Lama
fled to India and has since ceded temporal power to an elected government-in-exile. The current Dalai Lama
has attempted to negotiate with the Chinese authorities for greater autonomy and religious freedom for Tibet. As various high-ranking Lama
s in the country have died, the authorities have proposed their own candidates on the religious authorities, which has led at times to rival claimants to the same position. In an effort to control this, the Chinese government passed a law in 2007 requiring a Reincarnation Application be completed and approved for all lamas wishing to reincarnate.
The present incarnation of the Panchen Lama
is disputed. The Dalai Lama recognises Gedhun Choekyi Nyima
; however, the Chinese government recognises Gyaincain Norbu as the incarnation of the 11th Panchen Lama. Exile Tibetan sources allege that Gedhun Choekyi Nyima was kidnapped by the Chinese government. The identity of the Panchen Lama is of critical importance to Tibetan Buddhism because he is one of the authorities that must approve the next Dalai Lama.
(PRC) began a nationwide crackdown, except in the special administrative regions
of Hong Kong
and Macau
. The Chinese government banned the group for allegedly engaging in "illegal activities, advocating superstition and spreading fallacies, hoodwinking people, inciting and creating disturbances, and jeopardizing social stability." Several governments, international human rights organizations and scholars consider the ban a human rights violation. Particular concerns have been raised over reports of torture, beatings, executions, illegal imprisonment, forced labour, psychiatric abuses, and live organ harvesting of Falun Gong practitioners in China. Amnesty stated that "the crackdown is politically motivated, with legislation being used retroactively to convict people on politically-driven charges, and new regulations introduced to further restrict fundamental freedoms."
Constitution of the People's Republic of China
The Constitution of the People's Republic of China is the highest law within the People's Republic of China. The current version was adopted by the 5th National People's Congress on December 4, 1982 with further revisions in 1988, 1993, 1999, and 2004. Three previous state constitutions—those of...
; however, the Government restricts religious practice to government-sanctioned organizations and registered places of worship
Worship
Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. The word is derived from the Old English worthscipe, meaning worthiness or worth-ship — to give, at its simplest, worth to something, for example, Christian worship.Evelyn Underhill defines worship thus: "The absolute...
. The constitution forbids religious practices that cause "disruption" or "harm" to society. There are five registered religions: Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
, Taoism
Taoism
Taoism refers to a philosophical or religious tradition in which the basic concept is to establish harmony with the Tao , which is the mechanism of everything that exists...
, Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, Protestantism
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
, and Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
.
General
A government-affiliated association monitors the activities of each of the five faithFaith
Faith is confidence or trust in a person or thing, or a belief that is not based on proof. In religion, faith is a belief in a transcendent reality, a religious teacher, a set of teachings or a Supreme Being. Generally speaking, it is offered as a means by which the truth of the proposition,...
s. Religious groups are required to register with the State Administration for Religious Affairs
State Administration for Religious Affairs
The State Administration for Religious Affairs , abbreviated SARA , is a functioning department under the State Council which oversees religious affairs and issues for the People's Republic of China...
(SARA, formerly known as the central Religious Affairs Bureau) or its provincial and local offices (still known as Religious Affairs Bureaus (RABs)). SARA and the RABs are responsible for monitoring and judging the legitimacy of religious activity. A significant number of non-sanctioned churches
Church Body
A local church is a Christian religious organization that meets in a particular location. Many are formally organized, with constitutions and by-laws, maintain offices, are served by pastors or lay leaders, and, in nations where this is permissible, often seek seek non-profit corporate status...
and temples exist, attended by locals and foreigners alike. China does not permit "foreign domination" of religious affairs and religious bodies, due to fears of past colonialism and imperialism on the part of foreign missionaries.
While many associate Chinese government's tight regulation of religious activities to the atheist ideology of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP), such perceived hostility must be understood in the context of the lack of freedom of association under CCP rule. Chinese Communist Party's priority in eliminating all potential threats to its rule necessitates its paranoia of most non-governmental organizations beyond its control. The Party's concern is particularly acute in activities that involve a network of participants. One extreme and bizarre example is the 1998 ban that limited all direct marketing activities, by the likes of Avon and Amway, to retail stores and forbid direct salespersons from organizing home-based sales parties, which were "...seen by authorities as too similar in spirit to political activism." As such religious paranoia
Religious paranoia
Religious paranoia is a condition which has been compared to extremism and intolerance. It has been cited as a possible contributor to political violence...
exists, passion or efficiency in proselytizing by any religious sect might bring intense scrutiny and harassment from central government or local authorities.
Christianity
Christianity has been a growing minority religion for over 400 years. Growth has been more significant since the loosening of restrictions on religion after the 1970s within the People's Republic. Religious practices are still often tightly controlled by government authorities. Chinese over age 18 in Mainland China are permitted to be involved with officially sanctioned Christian meetings through the Three-Self Patriotic MovementThree-Self Patriotic Movement
The Three-Self Patriotic Movement or TSPM is a state-controlled Protestant church in the People's Republic of China...
or the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Associations.
Roman Catholic Church
In the People's Republic of China (PRC), Roman Catholicism is officially banned. The Chinese government demands that all Chinese Catholics must be loyal to the state, and that worship may only be legally conducted through State-approved churches, which means the "Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association". Catholics are pressured to break communion with the VaticanRoman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
by requiring them to renounce an essential belief in Roman Catholicism, the primacy of the Roman Pontiff. Catholics loyal to the pope currently worship clandestinely, out of fear of imprisonment. The PRC allows only state-approved candidates to be consecrated as bishops, and so-far the Vatican has not recognized the legitimacy of any of their bishops.
Protestants
The Three-Self Patriotic MovementThree-Self Patriotic Movement
The Three-Self Patriotic Movement or TSPM is a state-controlled Protestant church in the People's Republic of China...
, National Committee of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement of the Protestant Churches in China; the Three-Self Church) or "TSPM" is the government-sanctioned ("patriotic") Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
organization in the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. Known in combination with the China Christian Council
China Christian Council
The China Christian Council or CCC was founded in 1980 as an umbrella organization for all Protestant churches in the People's Republic of China with Bishop K. H. Ting as its president. It works to provide theological education and the publication of Bibles , hymnals , and other religious...
as the lianghui
Lianghui
Lianghui is a common Mandarin Chinese abbreviation for the annual meetings of the National People's Congress and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference...
, they form the only state-sanctioned ("registered") Protestant church in mainland China
Mainland China
Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...
. All other Protestant denominations are illegal.
Chinese house church
Chinese house church
Chinese house churches are a religious movement of unregistered assemblies of Christians in the People's Republic of China, which operate independently of the government-run Three-Self Patriotic Movement and China Christian Council for Protestant groups and the Chinese Patriotic Catholic...
es are a religious movement of unregistered assemblies of Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
s in the People's Republic of China, which operate independently of the government-run Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM) and China Christian Council (CCC) for Protestant groups and the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association (CCPA) and the Chinese Catholic Bishops Council (CCBC) for Catholics. They are also known as the "Underground" Church or the "Unofficial" Church, although this is somewhat of a misnomer as they are collections of unrelated individual churches rather than a single unified church. They are called "house churches" because as they are not officially registered organizations, they cannot independently own property and hence they meet in private houses, often in secret for fear of arrest or imprisonment.
Tibetan Buddhism
The People's Republic of China took full control of TibetTibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
in 1959. In the wake of the takeover and especially during the cultural revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
many monasteries were destroyed and many monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
s and laypeople killed. The 14th Dalai Lama
14th Dalai Lama
The 14th Dalai Lama is the 14th and current Dalai Lama. Dalai Lamas are the most influential figures in the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, although the 14th has consolidated control over the other lineages in recent years...
fled to India and has since ceded temporal power to an elected government-in-exile. The current Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Mongolian word далай meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word bla-ma meaning "teacher"...
has attempted to negotiate with the Chinese authorities for greater autonomy and religious freedom for Tibet. As various high-ranking Lama
Lama
Lama is a title for a Tibetan teacher of the Dharma. The name is similar to the Sanskrit term guru .Historically, the term was used for venerated spiritual masters or heads of monasteries...
s in the country have died, the authorities have proposed their own candidates on the religious authorities, which has led at times to rival claimants to the same position. In an effort to control this, the Chinese government passed a law in 2007 requiring a Reincarnation Application be completed and approved for all lamas wishing to reincarnate.
The present incarnation of the Panchen Lama
Panchen Lama
The Panchen Lama , or Bainqên Erdê'ni , is the highest ranking Lama after the Dalai Lama in the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism...
is disputed. The Dalai Lama recognises Gedhun Choekyi Nyima
Gedhun Choekyi Nyima
Gedhun Choekyi Nyima is, according to the 14th Dalai Lama, the eleventh Panchen Lama of Tibetan Buddhism. He was born in Lhari County, Tibet. On May 14, 1995, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima was named the 11th Panchen Lama by the 14th Dalai Lama...
; however, the Chinese government recognises Gyaincain Norbu as the incarnation of the 11th Panchen Lama. Exile Tibetan sources allege that Gedhun Choekyi Nyima was kidnapped by the Chinese government. The identity of the Panchen Lama is of critical importance to Tibetan Buddhism because he is one of the authorities that must approve the next Dalai Lama.
Falun Gong
Falun Gong has been the focus of international attention since July 20, 1999, when the government of the People's Republic of ChinaPeople's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
(PRC) began a nationwide crackdown, except in the special administrative regions
Special administrative region (People's Republic of China)
A special administrative region is a provincial-level administrative division of the People's Republic of China, for which creation is provided by Article 31 of the 1982 Constitution of the People's Republic of China Article 31 reads "The state may establish special administrative regions when...
of Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
and Macau
Macau
Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
. The Chinese government banned the group for allegedly engaging in "illegal activities, advocating superstition and spreading fallacies, hoodwinking people, inciting and creating disturbances, and jeopardizing social stability." Several governments, international human rights organizations and scholars consider the ban a human rights violation. Particular concerns have been raised over reports of torture, beatings, executions, illegal imprisonment, forced labour, psychiatric abuses, and live organ harvesting of Falun Gong practitioners in China. Amnesty stated that "the crackdown is politically motivated, with legislation being used retroactively to convict people on politically-driven charges, and new regulations introduced to further restrict fundamental freedoms."