Abstract

The ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) abolished its total ban on religious activities in 1982. However, the distrust that the CCP feels for religions remains obvious today, and the religious restrictions in contemporary China remain tight. Conventional wisdom tells us that the official atheist ideology of Marxism-Leninism is the main reason behind the CCP’s distrust for, and restriction of, religion. However, taking a historical institutionalist perspective, this paper argues that the religious restrictions in contemporary China are in fact rooted in the fierce political struggles of the country’s two major revolutions in the first half of the twentieth century. Without the support of religious groups, the Nationalist Republicans would have found it difficult to survive and succeed in overthrowing the Qing Dynasty during the Chinese Republican Revolution in the first decade of the twentieth century. Likewise, without cooperating with a wide range of religious groups, the CCP would have struggled to defeat the Nationalist regime and the Japanese invaders in the Chinese Communist Revolution between 1920s and 1940s. Thanks to the collaborations and struggles with various religious groups during the two revolutions which lead to its eventual ascent to power, the CCP thoroughly understands the organisational strength and mobilising capability embedded within religious groups. The tight restrictions on religious affairs in contemporary China is therefore likely to stem from the CCP’s worry that prospective competitors could mobilise religious groups to challenge its rule through launching, supporting, or sponsoring collective actions.

Highlights

  • Thanks to the collaborations and struggles with various religious groups during the two revolutions which lead to its eventual ascent to power, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) thoroughly understands the organisational strength and mobilising capability embedded within religious groups

  • This paper argues that religious restrictions in contemporary China have their roots in the past, especially in the bitter revolutions through which the CCP emerged as a consequence of China’s transition into a modern state

  • Aside from lessons learned from China’s ancient history and its witnessing of what happened during the Chinese Republican Revolution, the CCP’s attitudes and policies towards religious groups have been deeply influenced and profoundly shaped by its experience in the Chinese Communist

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Summary

Religious Restrictions in Contemporary China and Their Roots in the Past

Since the CCP loosened its control over religious affairs in the early 1980s, many parts of China have witnessed a rapid wave of religious revival (Tao 2012). The awkward status of religious groups in contemporary China could not have persisted for so long without that ambiguity being deeply embedded in the country’s religious policy While both China’s constitution and the country’s Regulation on Religious Affairs clearly state that ‘the state protects normal religious activities’, there is no clear and generally accepted list of the religious activities that are ‘normal’, nor is there any official catalogue that explicitly lists the groups which are considered to be practicing ‘normal religious activities’. Despite the general improvement of religious freedom in China during the past few decades, it is common for influential figures, sometimes even the top leadership, in the CCP to speak out about their concerns over the rapid religious revival in relatively direct language In his capacity as the Chairperson of the CCP’s Central Advisory Commission, Chen Yun—a veteran leader of the Party—described religions as ‘customary tactics that foreign class enemies adopt’ to attract the youth and to overthrow the government in China (Chen 1996). Policies were made and implemented to restrict religious groups, and actions were taken to pacify the rebelling potential of religious communities

Religious Groups and the Chinese Republican Revolution
Religious Groups and the Rise of the CCP
The CCP’s Struggle with Religious Groups in the Revolutionary Era
Findings
Conclusions and Discussion
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