Religion

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China is a country with a great diversity of religious beliefs. The main religions are Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism and Protestantism. Citizens of China may freely choose and express their religious beliefs, and make clear their religious affiliations. 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 throughout China. In addition, there are 74 religious schools and colleges run by religious organizations for training clerical personnel.

Buddhism has a history of 2,000 years in China, which came to China from India as early as the 1st century AD, was a more conventional religion. Its followers attended occasional services, practiced rituals, and supported a temple on a regular basis. It has been estimated that more than 68 million Chinese still consider themselves Buddhists, though it is unlikely that they practice the religion regularly (See Buddhism). Prior to 1949, practices that may best be called folk religions were common throughout China. Although they incorporated elements of Buddhism and, especially, Taoism, these religions were usually local, often based on local gods, and served the local people.

Taoism, native to China, has a history of more than 1,700 years. China now has over 1,500 Taoist temples and more than 25,000 Taoist priests and nuns.

The origins of Daoism are obscure, but it is first seen as a rival to Confucianism. The teachings of early Taoism are ascribed to Lao Zi (Lao Tze) in the fifth century BC who is the reputed author of the most influential Taoist text, the Dao De Jing (The Way and its Power). Where the Confucian stressed ethical action, the Taoist spoke of the virtue of Wu Wei (non-action), going with the flow of things.

Islam was introduced into China in the seventh century. Nowadays in China there are ten national minorities, including the Hui and Uygur, with a total population of 18 million, whose faith is Islam. Their 30,000-odd mosques are served by 40,000 Imams and Akhunds.

Islam first came to China in the seventh century AD (during the Tang dynasty). It was brought by Arab traders to the ports on the South-East coast and by Arab traders and soldiers to the North-West. It remains the religion of minorities to this day.

In later centuries many of the various nationalities in the North and North-West converted to Islam from Buddhism and Nestorianism and as these peoples were incorporated into China during the Qing dynasty, China acquired a sizeable Muslim population. There are perhaps as many as 15 million Muslims in China today, of whom over seven million are Hui. Politically, Islam is important both because China seeks good relations with Muslim countries and because the non-Hui Muslims live in strategically sensitive border areas.

Catholicism was introduced into China intermittently in the seventh century, but it had not spread widely until after the Opium War in 1840. At present, China has four million Catholics, 4,000 clergy and more than 4,600 churches and meeting houses.

Qing Emperor Kang Xi's edict of 1721 banning Christianity did not eliminate Christianity, and when the missionaries returned in force in the mid- 19th century they found surviving Catholic communities.

Protestantism was first brought to China in the early 19th century and spread widely after the Opium War. There are about 10 million Protestants, more than 18,000 clergy, more than 12,000 churches and 25,000-some meeting places throughout China.

The Liberation of 1949, while producing an enormous crisis in the church, also provoked a rethink which led, in the 1970s and 1980s, to a quite unexpected resurgence of Christianity. Today there are probably around 10 million Christians in China. Most significantly, the Christian community is free of foreign control and is increasingly accepted as a Chinese religion.