(1)外文名称: Religions in China
    (2)中文名称: 中国的宗教
    (3)内容:
                      Religions in China
    China has never had a state religion, but is a country with many religious beliefs. The most prominent religions include Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism, and Eastern Orthodox Church. The number of religious believers in China is estimated at more than 100 million. In general, those believing in Buddhism and Taoism in China outnumber those of other religions. The Huis, Uygurs, Kazaks, Kirgizs, Tatars,
Uzbeks, Tajiks, Dongxiangs, Salars, and Bonans follow Islam; the
Tibetans, Mongolians, Lhobas, Monbas, Tus and Yugurs are Lamaists. The Dai, Blang, and De'ang people's believe in the Hinayana (Lesser Vehicle) Buddhism. A considerable number of the Miao, Yao and Yi People believe in Catholicism and Protestantism. Some of the Han people are followers of Buddhism, Protestantism, Catholicism, or Taoism.
    To some extent, Confucianism was treated almost like an official religion in Chinese history. Throughout China and other parts of Southeast Asia there are many temples built in memory of Confucius (c. 551-479? B.C.), who was regarded as a great educator and philosopher in Chinese history. But, Confucianism has no clergy leadership and it does not teach reverence for a god or gods. However, the Confucian temples in China today are treated as historical rather than religious sites. Confucianism is viewed as moral teaching and ethical humanism rather than as a religion.
    China has more than 85,000 religious sites, over 300,000 ministers, priests, or other religious authorities, and more than 3,000 religious organizations. Each religion has its own national institutions, such as the Buddhist Association of China, China Taoist Association, the Islamic Association of China, the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, the Chinese Catholic Bishops College, the Three-Self Patriotic Movement Committee of the Protestant Churches of China, and the China Christian Council.
    There are 74 national and local religious institutes that publish many kinds of religious journals and newspapers at home or abroad.
    There are over 13,000 Buddhist monasteries and temples in China with some 120,000 lamas and nuns, and over 1,700 living Buddhas, and more than 3,000 monasteries and temples.
    There are more than 1,500 Taoist temples, with 25,000 Taoist priests and priestesses.
    The majority of Muslims come from 10 ethnic minority groups with a population of more than 18 million, who have more than 40,000 Imams and more than 30,000 mosques.
    The number of Catholics in China is four million, and there are a total of more than 4,000 clergymen and over 4,000 churches.
    China also has nearly ten million Protestants, up from 700,000 in 1949. There are more than 12,000 churches and 25,000 other places of worship built by missionaries.
    Religious organizations are allowed to publish classical texts, such as Buddhist sutras, Taoist texts, the Koran, and the Bible.
    Policy and Laws on Religion
    As a country with multi-religious beliefs, China provides for the freedom of religion as a basic right of its citizens according to the Constitution. It accords citizens the right to believe in any religion they choose or not to believe in any religion. This is a fundamental, long-term policy of China. The Chinese government respects and protects citizens' religious choice, and applies the policy and legal guarantee for religious freedom.
    A bureau of religious affairs has been established under the State Council. The Chinese government does not interfere with the believers' religious activities, and it protects the religious activities of temples and churches. It also ensures that non-believers abstain from going into temples and churches to propagate atheism. The government makes sure that every religious believer has the right to take part in political activities. Delegates to people's congresses and political consultative conferences at all levels include religious personages to deliberate on issues concerning national affairs.
    In addition to the Constitution, there are articles on protecting religious freedom and prohibiting religious discrimination against believers or non-believers in other laws like the Criminal Law, the General Principles of the Civil Code, the Law on Regional Autonomy for China's National Minorities, the Military Service Law, the Law on Compulsory Education, the
Electoral Law for the National People's Congress and Local People's Congresses, and the Organization Law of the Village Committees.
    In 1994, the State Council approved the "Regulations on the Management of Religious Activities of Foreigners within Territories of the People's Republic of China" and "Rules on the Management of Places of Worship."
    Major Religions
    BUDDHISM, the most influential religion in China, first appeared in China in 2 BC and spread widely after the fourth century. There are three distinct types of Buddhism in China:
Mahayana Buddhism (or called Han Buddhism), Hinayana Buddhism (or Pali Buddhism), and Tibetan Buddhism (or Lamaism). They are united only by a mutual desire for liberation from the pain of the material world and a claim to descent from the India's Siddhartha Guatama (Buddha).
    Mahayana Buddhism, which the Chinese call Han Buddhism, puts emphasis on deeds that will effect the salvation of others. Hinayana, or Pali Buddhism, emphasizes individual salvation. And Tibetan Buddhism (Lamaism), with its system of incarnating Living Buddhas, gives vast political powers to a small but selected group of monks.
    Before the Buddhism (Mahayana Buddhism) reached Tibet in the 7th century A.D., the indigenous religion of that area was Ben. Only after ages of struggle between Ben and Buddhism did the gap between the two religions begin to narrow. From time to time, a few Buddhists from India were invited to bring their teachings into Tibet, but Lamaism mainly gained its Buddhist knowledge from Chinese Han Buddhist sources. Today's Lamaism is widespread in Tibet and Inner Mongolia. Of the various sects that eventually developed within Tibetan Buddhism, the main ones are the
Gelug, Nyingma, Sakya (or Sagya), Kagyu, Ben. The most powerful of the Tibetan Buddhism sects is the Gelug, or "Yellow" Sect.
    Hinayana Buddhism (Pali Buddhism) was introduced from Burma, about the 9th century A.D., into regions inhabited by the Dai, Blang, Achang, De'ang, Bai, Gin and Lahu ethnic groups in Yunnan Province. Today its followers are mainly people from these ethnic minorities. In China it is called Pali Buddhism because Pali is the language of ancient India that is spoken in the temples.
    ISLAM was introduced to China in the middle period of the 7th century. During the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties, Muslim Arab and Persian merchants of the Islamic faith came overland through Central Asia to Northwest China and by sea to Guangzhou and other southeastern ports, bringing with them the Islamic faith. The largest of the ten Muslim ethnic groups are the Huis. The other nine Muslim ethnic groups are Uygur, Kazak, Dongxiang, Kirgiz, Salar, Tajik, Uzbek, Bonan, and Tatar. Most of the Muslims live in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Gansu and Qinghai. China's famous mosques include Libai Mosque in Yangzhou, Huajue Mosque in Xi'an, Niujie Mosque in Beijing, Dongda Mosque in Yinchuan, and the Titagar at Kashi in Xinjiang.
    The introduction of Catholicism and Protestantism to China followed Buddhism and Islam, with less influence. The followers of Catholicism and Protestantism mainly concentrate in large cities such as Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Wuhan and certain rural areas. The best-known cathedrals are the Xuanwumen Church of Immaculate Conception and the Xishiku Church of Our Savior in Beijing, the Xujiahui Cathedral to Mary Mother of God in Shanghai, the Shishi Stone Room Cathedral in Guangzhou,
the Shanghailu Church in Wuhan, and the Laoxikai Church in Tianjin.
    TAOISM, taking form in the second century A.D., is the only major religion that came exclusively from Chinese roots and grew to maturity on Chinese soil. Taoists looked to the philosopher Lao Zi (traditionally said to be born in 604 B.C.) as their great teacher, and took his work "Dao De Jing" (The Classic of the Way and Its Power) as their cannon. Mystifying the philosophical concept of "Dao" or "Tao" (the Way) as described in the "Dao De Jing", they posited that man could become one with the "Dao" through self-cultivation and achieve immortality. The most famous Taoist Temples and monasteries are Baiyun Monastery in
Beijing, Qingyang Monastery in Chengdu and Taiqing Monastery in
Shenyang.
    To promote academic research, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences have established Institutes of World Religion with special departments for Buddhism, Islam and Christianity. In addition, religious institutes for higher learning, such as the Islamic Theological Institute, the Nanjing (Jinling) Union Theological Seminary and the Institute of Chinese Buddhism, have been set up to train clergy and researchers.