China has a population of over 1.2 billion people. The largest part of the population is Han Chinese, 91.9 percent. The remainder of the population is made up of Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Tibetan, Miao, Manchu, Mongol, Buyi, Korean and other nationalities. China, one of the world’s cradles of civilization, has a profound and ancient religious tradition. Daoism and Confucianism date back to the 5th century BC. Christianity had entered China at least by the 7th century. Islam was introduced to China in the 7th century. The Catholic Church began to make inroads into China when the Portuguese established relations with China in the 15th century. Protestant missionaries were active in China in the 19th and the first half of the 20th century.
In 1949, with the victory of the Communist Party under Mao Tse Tung, China entered a period of religious repression. In the 1950’s, China formed several "patriotic associations" to control religious activity and severed all ties between religious organizations in China and foreign organizations. During the "cultural revolution" from 1966-1976, religion and religious figures suffered severe persecution and repression. In the 1980’s, as the Chinese government sought to improve its relationships with the West and embark on a course of technological and economic development, China began a policy of allowing the rebuilding of churches, temples and mosques. A religious revival ensued which has continued to the present day. Religious membership far exceeds the membership of the Communist Party. Exact figures are unknown because of widespread unofficial religious activity.
In a White Paper on Freedom of Religious Belief in China issued in October 1997, the Chinese government stated that "According to incomplete statistics, there are over 100 million followers of various religious faiths, more than 85,000 sites for religious activities, some 300,000 clergy, and over 3,000 religious organizations." The largest religions in China at present are Buddhism and Daoism. In addition, the 1997 White Paper estimates that there are 18 million Moslems, four million Catholics and ten million Protestants. These figures, which include only officially recognized believers, are considered to be extremely low, with more accurate estimates ranging to as high as five times the official number.
Although the Chinese Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, there is, in fact, very little religious freedom in China today. Article 36 of the Chinese constitution states that:
(1) Citizens of the People’s Republic of China enjoy freedom of religious belief.In practice, the government recognizes five religions which it monitors through "patriotic associations:" the Chinese Buddhist Association, the Catholic Patriotic Association, the Protestant Three-Self Patriotic Movement, the Chinese Islamic Association and the Chinese Daoist Association. All religious groups must register with the appropriate religious organization. According to Regulation 145, "On Management of Places for Religious Activities" issued by the Religious Affairs Bureau of the State Council in January 1994 and "Regulation Procedures for Religious Activities" issued in May 1994, applicant groups must have a professional religious leader approved by the relevant patriotic association, a fixed meeting point and activities confined to a specific area. Any unregistered activity is illegal and may be prosecuted under the "Regulations Governing Public Order Offenses" which was amended in 1994 to include "Carrying out activities under the name of a social organization without registration," "organizing activities of superstitious sects and secret societies to disrupt public order," and "disturbing public order and damaging people’s health through religious activities."
(2) 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 who believe in, or do not believe in, any religion.
(3) The state protects normal religious activities. No one may make use of religion to engage in activities that disrupt the public order, impair the health of citizens or interfere with the educational system of the state.
(4) Religious bodies and religious affairs are not subject to any foreign domination.
China’s religious policies result from several factors. The ruling Communist Party perceives unregulated religious activity as a threat to its power. They are alarmed by a growing association between many pro-democracy dissidents and underground churches. The government fears foreign influence through religious groups with international association. In Tibet, Tibetan Buddhism is integrally linked with ethnic identity and therefore associated with the movement for an independent Tibet. Likewise, in Xinjiang and Southwest China, where Moslems are predominant, Islam is associated with separatist movements.
In the early 1990’s, the government of China watched with alarm as the Marxist states of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe dissolved. The role of the Catholic Church in the dissolution of communism in Poland was especially ominous for the Chinese leaders. Since the 1980’s, China has been seeking to maintain a policy allowing greater economic freedom for the sake of economic development while, at the same time, maintaining political control. They brutally squashed pro-democracy demonstrations in Tien Ming Square. For several years China experienced several destabilizing forces. The rapid growth of the economy combined with a cutback of some government programs gave rise to sectors of unemployment, rising inflation and income disparities which were new to China. At the same time, China was undergoing a succession battle and struggling to control rising corruption. In 1994, the government took a series of steps designed to bring about reform and promote stability.
As a part of these measures, the Chinese have been seeking to bring religion under control. As mentioned above, religious involvement in China is continuing to grow and, for a number of reasons, is perceived as a potential threat to the Chinese socialist system. The cornerstone of the policy has been to ensure that all religious activity is registered, that unregistered religious activity is brought to an end and that the registered religions teach and practice in ways which are in accord with government social, educational, economic, and political policy. In their efforts to control religion in recent years the party has emphasized the themes of "national unity," "patriotism" and "social stability." A major conference in Beijing in January 1996 identified "three immediate tasks required to clean up religion... to order all places of worship to register, to deal with difficult religious problems of public concern and to cultivate contingents of young patriotic religious preachers." The goal of the government is that religious teaching support government policy and that religious organizations cooperate with the Communist Party in achieving the social and economic work plans of the government. To this end, students at seminaries and other institutions which train religious leaders, must undergo social and political education, and candidates for religious ministry must be approved by the government. The government also monitors sermons and teachings of religious organizations to ensure that they do not preach or teach against government policy.
The Chinese government expressed its attitude toward religion in its October 1997 White Paper:
Religion should be adapted to the society in which it is prevalent. This is a universal law for the existence and development of religion. Now the Chinese people are building China into a modern socialist country with Chinese characteristics. The Chinese government advocates that religion should adapt to this reality. However, this adaptation does not require citizens to give up religious belief, nor does it require any religion to change its basic doctrines. Instead, it requires religions to conduct their activities within the sphere prescribed by law to adapt to social and cultural progress.
In spite of their efforts, unauthorized religious activity in all faiths has continued to spread and the national and local government have reacted with varying degrees of repression. The Chinese justify their actions in the 1997 White Paper in the following terms:
... since the 1980’s some pernicious organizations have sprung up in certain areas of China which engage in illegal and even criminal activities under the signboard of religion. Some of the heads of these pseudo-religions distort religious doctrines, create heresies, deceive the masses, refuse to obey the State’s laws and decrees, and incite people to overthrow the government.The government allows Buddhism to be practiced in the home or centered on officially registered temples. Yet authorities have been alarmed by the widespread building of unauthorized temples and tombs. Wenhui Bao, a newspaper in Hong Kong, reported in June 1996 that the government had destroyed 17,900 illegal temples and churches and 257,000 tombs in the province of Zhejiang in an effort to crack down on "a revival of feudalism and superstition." In Tibet and Mongolia, religious freedom of Buddhists is restricted to prevent the promotion of a distinct cultural and ethnic identity which could foster separatism.
The Chinese government recognizes that there are 18 million Moslems in China with about 30,000 registered mosques and 40,000 imams and Akhunds. According to Amnesty International, reports indicate that the actual number of Muslims may be 30-40 million. The Chinese government states in their 1997 White Paper:
The Chinese government ... respects and protects the Moslems freedom of religious belief as well as their folk customs. The departments concerned in the government have provided special pilgrimage-related services for Moslem pilgrims... Since the 1980’s, the number of Chinese Moslems going to Mecca on pilgrimages has exceeded 40,000. In the Xinjian Uygur Autonomous Region alone, there are now more than 23,000 mosques with 29,000 clergymen, having thus met the needs of believers’ religious life.
The authorities have been particularly vigilant, however, in trying to quash unregistered Muslim activity in Xinjiang province. Since April of 1996, only the Xinjiang People’s Publication House is allowed to publish books dealing with Islam. Use of unauthorized materials is illegal. Any religious activities in schools is banned, and communist party members are forbidden from participating in Islamic religious activities or distributing religious materials. Chinese authorities continue to dismantle and close down illegal mosques and Koranic schools and arrest unauthorized teachers and believers who are viewed as "separatist" criminals.
There are at present really two Catholic churches in China - the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association with about four million registered members under the leadership of Bishop Fu Tieshan, a member of the National People’s Congress; and the underground Catholic Church which recognizes the primacy of the Pope. Pope John Paul II has strongly opposed the efforts of the Chinese government to control the church. He has appointed two Cardinals in Pectore (in the breast) for China. Their identities are kept secret to maintain their safety. One of the Cardinals is believed to be in China. Half of China’s Catholics reside in Hebei. For the past several years there has been tension because the government has used troops and police to prevent Catholics from taking part in an annual spring pilgrimage to Donglu. According to the 1997 US State Department Report, during 1997 "authorities forced many underground priests and believers to make the choice of either joining the patriotic church or facing punishments such as fines, job loss, and ... barring children from school." Several Catholic Bishops have been detained or held under house arrest.
Unauthorized Protestant Christianity has been spreading rapidly through the institution of "house churches." While the government recognizes about 11 million Protestants, the 1997 US State Department Report on Human Rights states that estimates range from 30 million to as high as 60 million unauthorized house worshippers. Generally, leaders of unauthorized churches are subject to harassment, detentions, interrogations and, in some cases, severe beatings. Severity of enforcement varies from province to province. According to the State Department report, "in some areas, security used bribes, threats, demolition of unregistered property, extortion of ‘fines,’ and interrogation to harass religious figures and followers."
According to a report "Religion in China: Regulating the Opium of the People", published by China Rights Forum in Spring 1995:
Local authorities use central government regulations to extort money from unofficial church members, to forcibly break up clandestine meetings, to hold worshipers without charge until they can raise exorbitant sums to buy their releases, and to orchestrate beatings severe enough to cause death. In late March 1993, 22 year-old Lai Maiping died as a result of a beating by security forces in Taoyuan Village, Lijia Township, Xunyang County, Shaanxi Province. On January 6, 1994, one day after he was arrested, Zheng Muzheng, an active proselytizer, was beaten to death in jail in Dongkou County, Hunan Province....Other members of unofficial churches have had their personal and productive property confiscated or been threatened with the loss of their jobs or been bankrupted by excessive fines. Still others, under constant surveillance or de facto house arrest, are never formally detained or arrested. They are held for months, released, picked up again and so on. Some church leaders are intermittently sent on mandatory journeys in order to disrupt their relationships with their followers; some are forced to attend long-lasting "study classes" aimed at conversion to official belief.
The approach of the year 2000 has given rise to a number of millennial groups which are outside the mainstream and are singled out by the government for suppression. In June of 1997, the head of the Religious Affairs Bureau spoke of a "government crackdown on a small number of cults which threaten the social and public interest." Among groups singled out by the government to be closed down are the "Shouters," the Disciple Group, the Holistic Group, the Bei Li Group and the Yi Guan Doa.
Reports of religious persecution in China have caused international concern. They were one of the factors which prompted the introduction of the Freedom From Religious Persecution Act in the US Congress. This bill threatens sanctions against nations that violate religious freedom. The bill passed the House of Representatives in May 1998. A modified version passed the Senate on November 9, 1998. Freedom of religion was also a topic in talks between Chinese leaders and US Secretary of State Albrecht.
On a state visit to Washington in 1997, the Premier of China invited three leading US clergymen, Rabbi Arthur Schneier of New York City, Catholic Archbishop Theodore McCarrick of Newark, NJ and Rev. Don Argue, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, to visit China to review the state of religious freedom. The clergymen traveled to China and were met by President Jiang who encouraged them to "see for yourselves what is happening in China, and hear about the ideas and views of the people from all walks of life." The three travelers met with numerous officials, representatives of registered churches and had some indirect contact with unregistered churches. In their discussions with Chinese officials, the clergymen did their best to raise issues of concern and felt that they succeeded in engaging in meaningful and constructive dialogue. While not assuaging the concerns of human rights activists, the clergymen felt that their visit testifies to the fact that Chinese leaders are sensitive to international concerns about religious freedom in China.
In June of 1997, US President Clinton visited China and met with Jiang Zemin. President Clinton highlighted religious freedom in a public address. Furthermore, the two presidents held a joint press conference in which President Zemin expressed his willingness to meet with the Dalai Lama on condition that the Dalai Lama acknowledge that Tibet is an integral part of China and that Taiwan is a Chinese Province. As of early 1999, no such admission has been made by the Dalai Lama, and no meeting has been arranged.
On October 5, 1998 China signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Since that time , however, China has continued to pass laws restricting religious freedom and to crack down on religious activity which is carried on independently of the five officially recognized "patriotic churches."
In November, 1998, authorities in Henan providence detained at least 70 leaders of "house churches." One, Cheng Meiyeng, was unconscious for three days after receiving a severe beating, and since recovery, has experienced complete memory loss. Another, Li Qingrui, was shot in the leg as he sought escape from a raid on a church meeting. The Public Security Bureau has been demanding exorbitant fines for those accused of engaging in "unregistered activities." Human Rights in China has characterized these fines as "ransom."
This attempt to channel religious activity into those organizations recognized by the government, combined with the arrest political dissidents in the democracy movement, have moved the discussion of human rights to the center of discussions among China, the US, and other countries, especially as China is seeking greater acceptance in the world community and entrance into international economic organizations.
2003 U.S. State Department International Religious Freedom report on China (Includes Tibet, Hong Kong and Macau)
2003 U.S. State Department International Religious Freedom report on China (Taiwan only)
International Christian Concern report on China
Spring 2001 ICRF Article on Falun Gong
Faith Sprouts in Arid Soil of China WorldWide Religious News 5/06/04
Communist Party attempts to preserve remnants of atheism WorldWide Religious News 4/26/04
China Hails Rights Record as U.S. Pushes Resolution ABCnews.com 3/29/04
China Rights Amendment to Edge Open Door to Debate WorldWide Religious News 3/03/04
China touts new churches, but rules crimp faithful WorldWide Religious News 3/03/04
China Indicts 2 Unofficial Church Leaders WorldWide Religious News 2/25/04
China Arrests Dozens of Prominent Christians WorldWide Religious News 2/18/04
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