China is a country with a great diversity of religions with over 100 million followers of various faiths. Respecting and protecting the freedom of religious belief is a fundamental policy of the CPC and the Chinese government. This basic policy means: every Chinese citizen has the freedom to believe or not to believe in religion; enjoys the freedom to believe in the established religion of their choice, and within a religion enjoys the freedom to follow the sect of their choice; and has the freedom to change religious beliefs, adopting beliefs not formerly held or abandoning former beliefs. The essence of this basic policy is to give every Chinese citizen the freedom to choose his or her own faith in regard to religious beliefs and to make religious belief a private matter of each citizen.
The main religions in China are Buddhism, Islam, Christianity in both its Catholic and Protestant forms, China’s indigenous Taoism (Daoism), 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 (also known as Lamaism), and the Dai, Blang and De’ang to Pali or Southern Buddhism, a branch of Hinayana Buddhism. Both Tibetan Buddhism and Han Buddhism, the Buddhism practiced by the majority Han people, are of the Mahayana branch of Buddhism. Quite a few Miao, Yao and Yi are Catholics or Protestants. Religious Han Chinese tend to practice Han Buddhism, Protestantism, Catholicism or Taoism. China has more than 13,000 Buddhist temples. Buddhism was introduced to China from India approximately in the first century A.D., becoming increasingly popular and the most influential religion in China after the fourth century. Tibetan Buddhism is popular primarily in Tibet and Inner Mongolia. Pali or Southern Buddhism is practiced mostly in Yunnan Province.
Islam first reached China probably in the mid-seventh century. The Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) witnessed the zenith of prosperity of Islam. Today China has more than 30,000 mosques.
Catholic influence reached China since the seventh century, and Protestantism was introduced into China in the early 19th century. Today there are more than 4,600 Catholic churches and over 12,000 Protestant churches, as well as over 25,000 other types of Christian places of worship in China.
Taoism probably took shape as a religion during the second century, based on the philosophy of Lao Zi (traditionally said to have been born in 604 B.C.) and his work, the Tao Te Ching, or Dao De Jing (Classic of the Way and Virtue). China today has more than 1,500 Taoist temples.
In China, some 3,000 religious associations engage in a variety of activities, including the operation of 74 religious colleges and universities. At some 85,000 sites for religious activities all over China people can be seen worshipping, chanting scriptures, praying, preaching, reading the mass, conducting baptisms, ordaining somebody into the ministry, observing Ramadan and observing other religious festivals. These activities—protected by law under the Chinese Constitution’s guarantees of the right of religious belief—are carried out by clergy or by followers themselves. The number of clergy among the various faiths practicing in China is estimated at some 300,000. Each major religion in China has its own national periodical, which is also circulated abroad. All the classic texts of the major religions are published and distributed by their religious associations.
