Editor's Introduction

Abstract

The previous two issues (vol. 33, nos. 2 and 3) of Chinese Law and Government presented translations of key policy documents promulgated by the Chinese government (central and local) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that regulated the practice of religion. The Religious Affairs Bureau (RAB), formed in 1954 under the State Council with branches at provincial and local levels, acts as the government's agent in dealing with religious groups, enforcing government's religious policies, and monitoring and controlling religious activities and expression. As analyzed in the previous two issues, only "state-defined," "normal" religious practices are allowed and "protected" by the state, and all "official" religious organizations are subjected to the government's administrative "regulations" and "controls." Yet, there are wide variations in implementing government and Party regulations on religious activities. To help understand the implementation of religious policies, the notion of "religious freedom," and the policy responses and reactions of religious organizations in China, we have selected and translated documents for this issue that focus on the policy responses of the Christian community in China, especially the "official" Three-Self churches and the China Christian Council.