Religious
Belief
China
is a country with great diversity of religions, with over 100 million
followers of the various faiths. The main religions are Buddhism,
Islam, Christianity, China??s indigenous Taoism, along with 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, and the Dai, Blang and
Deang to Theravada Buddhism. Quite a few Miao, Yao and Yi are Christians.
Religious Han Chinese tend to practice Buddhism, Christianity or
Taoism.
Buddhism was introduced
to China from India approximately in the first century A.D., becoming
increasingly popular after the fourth century. Tibetan Buddhism,
or Lamaism as it is sometimes called, is found primarily in Tibet
and Inner Mongolia. Now China has more than 13,000 Buddhist temples,
with about 200,000 monks and nuns.
Islam probably first
reached China in the mid-seventh century. During the Tang (618-907)
and Song (960-1279) dynasties, Arab and Persian merchants of the
Islamic faith came overland through Central Asia to northwest China
and by sea to the coastal cities in southeastern China, bringing
with them the Islamic faith. The Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368) witnessed
the zenith of prosperity of Islam. Now China has more than 30,000
mosques and more than 40,000 imams and ahungs.
Christianity reached
China several times after the seventh century, and was introduced
to the country on a large scale after the Opium War of 1840. Now
there are about four million Catholic believers, 4,000 clergy and
more than 4,600 churches and meeting places in China.
Protestantism was
introduced to China in the early 19th century, and spread widely
after the Opium War. Now China has about 10 million Protestant believers,
18,000 clergy, and more than 12,000 churches and 25,000 other centers
of worship.
Taoism probably took
form as a religion during the second century, originating from sorcery,
pursuit of immortality and other supernatural beliefs in ancient
China. Taoists take the philosopher Lao Zi (traditionally said to
be born in 604 B.C.) as their teacher, and his work, the Dao De
Jing (The Classic of the Way and Its Power), as their canon. Sublimating
the philosophical concept of ??Dao?? or ??Tao?? (the Way) as described
in the Dao De Jing, they posit that man can become one with the
??Tao?? through self-cultivation, and achieve immortality. China now
has more than 1,500 Taoist temples, and over 25,000 Taoist monks
and nuns.
Buddhists, Moslems, Catholics,
Protestants and Taoists have all established their own national and
local organizations. The national religious organizations include
the Buddhist Association of China, the China Taoist Association, the
Islamic Association of China, the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association,
the Chinese Catholic Bishops College, the Three-Self Patriotic Movement
Committee of the Protestant Churches of China and the China Christian
Council. They elect leading organs and leaders in accordance with
their own rules, run their own religious affairs independently, set
up religious schools, publish religious books and periodicals, print
and distribute religious classics and found social welfare undertakings.
