China is a country of great religious diversity and freedom of
religious belief. It has over 100 million followers of various
faiths, more than 100,000 sites for religious activities, about
300,000 religious personnel and over 3,000 religious associations.
These associations run 76 religious schools and colleges to train
religious personnel. In China, all regular religious activities -
such as worshipping Buddha, chanting scriptures, praying,
expounding on scriptures, holding Mass, baptism, initiation into
monk- or nun-hood, Ramadan and observance of religious festivals -
are all managed by the religious personnel and adherents
themselves, are protected under the law and are free from
interference. The holy books of each religion are published and
distributed by religious associations. Each religion in China has
its own national periodical, which is also circulated abroad.
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The main religions are Buddhism, Islam, Roman Catholic and
Protestant Christianity, China's indigenous Taoism, Shamanism,
Eastern Orthodox Christianity and the Naxi people's Dongba
religion. The Hui, Uygur, Kazak, Kirgiz, Tatar, Ozbek, Tajik,
Dongxiang, Salar and Bonan peoples adhere to Islam; the Tibetan,
Mongolian, Lhoba, Moinba, Tu and Yugur, to Tibetan Buddhism (also
known as Lamaism), and the Dai, Blang and Deang to Hinayana
Buddhism. Large numbers of Miao, Yao and Yi are Catholic or
Protestant Christians. Religious Han Chinese tend to practice
Buddhism, Christianity, or Taoism.
Buddhism was introduced into China from India around the first
century AD, growing increasingly popular to become the most
influential religion in China after the fourth century. Tibetan
Buddhism, as a branch of Chinese Buddhism, is popular primarily in
Tibet and Inner Mongolia. Now China has more than 13,000 Buddhist
temples.
It is probable that Islam first reached China around the
mid-seventh century. The Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) witnessed the
zenith of prosperity of Islam. Now China has more than 30,000
mosques.?
Catholic influence reached China in the seventh century, and
Protestantism was introduced into China in the early 19th century.
Now there are more than 4,600 Catholic and over 12,000 Protestant
churches, as well as over 30,000 other types of Christian places of
worship in China.
Taoism is based on the philosophy of Lao Zi (traditionally said
to be born in 604 BC) and his work, the Dao De Jing
(Classic of the Way and Virtue). It probably took shape as a
religion during the second century, and China now has more than
1,500 Taoist temples.