In the 1980s it was found that the Yao clearly identified themselves with Chinese-language Taoist theological literature, seen as a prestigious statute of culture (文化 wénhuà). All religious communities, including those of major faiths like Christianity and Islam, have been threatened. Chinese Civilization has long hosted a variety of religions of the world. Many of them still remain underground or unrecognised in China, while others—for instance the Church of Virtue, Tiandiism, Xuanyuanism, Weixinism and Yiguandao—operate in China and collaborate with academic and non-governmental organisations. [329], The spiritual source of Bon is the mythical figure of Tonpa Shenrab Miwoche. This study estimated 21.9% of the population of China believed in folk religions, 18.2% were Buddhists, 5.1% were Christians, 1.8% were Muslims, 0.8% believed in other religions, while unaffiliated people constituted 52.2% of the population. CFPS 2014 found that 5.94% of the population declared that they belonged to "other" religious categories besides the five state-sanctioned religions. Spreading in China, Buddhism had to interact with indigenous religions, especially Taoism. Dongba followers believe in a celestial shaman called Shi-lo-mi-wu, with little doubt the same as the Tibetan Shenrab Miwo. p. 34 of Wenzel-Teuber (2011): "The CSLS questioned people on popular religious beliefs and practices as well, and came to the following estimates (excluding those who identified themselves with an institutional religion).". Because each style has its own formatting nuances that evolve over time and not all information is available for every reference entry or article, Encyclopedia.com cannot guarantee each citation it generates. Chinese folk religion. ", Overmyer (2009, p. 73), says that from the late 19th to the 20th century few professional priests (i.e. [158] Otherwise, in the religious context of Inner Mongolia there has been a significant integration of Han Chinese into the traditional folk religion of the region. In the same years, about 40 million Chinese said they believed in Jesus Christ or had attended Christian meetings, but did not identify themselves with the Christian religion. Restrictions lasted until the reforms of the 1980s, when Buddhism began to recover popularity and its place as the largest organised faith in the country. [328] Since then, large temples and ceremonial complexes for Bimoist practices have been built. [159] In Tibet, across broader western China, and in Inner Mongolia, there has been a growth of the cult of Gesar with the explicit support of the Chinese government, Gesar being a cross-ethnic Han-Tibetan, Mongol and Manchu deity—the Han identify him as an aspect of the god of war analogically with Guandi—and culture hero whose mythology is embodied in a culturally important epic poem. Therefore, it’s best to use Encyclopedia.com citations as a starting point before checking the style against your school or publication’s requirements and the most-recent information available at these sites: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html. The Abrahamic religions that came from the Near East, for example, focus on a single omnipotent deity, whereas the folk religions of China attribute independent power to multiple deities, without attributing to the lofty Jade Emperor the omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence attributed to the Abrahamic supreme deity. Islam has been practiced in Chinese society for 1,400 years. The Chinese worship Genghis as the ancestral god of the, The man (with the physical features of an Indo-European) wearing a distinctive cap and face veil, is possibly a camel rider or even a Zoroastrian priest engaging in a ritual at a, Cite error: The named reference "CFPS2014" was defined multiple times with different content (see the, [Group: Officials destroying crosses, burning bibles in China Group: Officials destroying crosses, burning bibles in China] Associated Press, 2010 Chinese Spiritual Life Survey, Purdue University's Center on Religion and Chinese Society. China religion can be a mysterious topic, but it doesn’t have to be! Chinese religion is composed of four main traditions: Chinese folk religion, Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism. The study analysed the proportion of believers that were at the same time members of the local section of the Communist Party of China, finding that it was exceptionally high among the Taoists, while the lowest proportion was found among the Protestants. This line of thought would have influenced all Chinese individual and collective-political mystical theories and practices thereafter. [134], Religious self-identification of university students in Beijing (2011)[140], Religious self-identification of participants of the cultural nationalist movement in the mainland (2011)[141], The varieties of Chinese religion are spread across the map of China in different degrees. [59], In the myth, the Yellow Emperor was conceived by a virgin mother, Fubao, who was impregnated by Taiyi's radiance (yuanqi, "primordial pneuma") from the Big Dipper after she gazed at it. The Baháʼí Faith (巴哈伊信仰 Bāhāyī xìnyǎng, 巴哈伊教 Bāhāyījiào, or, in old translations, 大同教 Dàtóngjiào) has had a presence in China[353] since the 19th century. |image4=Buddhism in China (China Family Panel Studies 2012).png|caption4=Buddhism[168] ", "Local Confucian Revival in China: Ritual Teachings, 'Confucian' Learning and Cultural Resistance in Shandong", "Myths of Descent, Racial Nationalism and Ethnic Minorities in the People's Republic of China", "中国汉人自发的宗教实践 – 神仙教 (Zhongguo Hanren zifadi zongjiao shijian: Shenxianjiao)", "Kang Youwei: The Martin Luther of Confucianism and His Vision of Confucian Modernity and Nation", "Ritual Economy and Rural Capitalism with Chinese Characteristics", "Old Chinese "*tees" and Proto-Indo-European "*deus": Similarity in Religious Ideas and a Common Source in Linguistics", "To Inherit the Ancient Teachings of Confucius and Mencius and Establish Modern Confucianism", Meihuaquan and Community Life in North China, The boundary between religion and the state in China by Prof. Lagerwey, THE DEBATE: Insight into religion in modern China (part 1), Secularization Theory and the Study of Chinese Religions, Understanding Contemporary Religious Pluralism in China, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Religion_in_China&oldid=994990813, Articles containing Chinese-language text, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles which use infobox templates with no data rows, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. The CFPS 2014 survey, published in early 2017, found that 15.87% of the Chinese declare to be Buddhists, 5.94% to belong to unspecified other religions, 0.85% to be Taoists, 0.81% to be members of the popular sects, 2.53% to be Christians (2.19% Protestants and 0.34% Catholics) and 0.45% to be Muslims. [132] A 2017 study of the Christian communities of Wuhan found the same socio-economic characteristics, with the addition that Christians were more likely to suffer from physical and mental illness than the general population. Ethics and appropriate behaviour may vary depending on the particular school, but in general all emphasise wu wei (effortless action), "naturalness", simplicity, spontaneity, and the Three Treasures: compassion, moderation, and humility. [378]:135, Hindu texts were translated into Chinese, including a large number of Indian Tantric texts and the Vedas, which are known in Chinese as the Minglun or Zhilun, or through phonetic transliteration as the Weituo, Feituo or Pituo. [388]:148–149 Some scholars provide evidences that would attest the existence of Zoroastrianism, or broader Iranian religion, in China, as early as the 2nd and 1st century BCE. [181] Rituals and sacrifices are employed not only to seek blessing from the ancestors, but also to create a communal and educational religious environment in which people are firmly linked with a glorified history. [388]:150 During the great purge of foreign religions under Emperor Wuzong of Tang also Zoroastrianism was target of suppression. From the third century onward, Pure Land Buddhism became the most popular school in China, holding out as it did the hope of rebirth into AmitĀbha Buddha's Western Paradise. These "spirits" are associated with stars, mountains, and streams and directly influence what happens in the natural and human world. Eventually he became the goddess Guanyin, the quintessential personification of compassion and one of the most widespread deities of folk religion. Shamanism was the prevalent modality of pre-Han dynasty Chinese indigenous religion. [273] Confucians cultivate family bonds and social harmony rather than pursuing a transcendental salvation. We will discuss each of the following in more detail below. By 1921, Harbin, Manchuria's largest city, had a Russian population of around 100,000, constituting a large part of Christianity in the city. Folk religious movements of salvation constitute 2–3% to 13% of the population, while many in the intellectual class adhere to Confucianism as a religious identity. Already in Shang theology, the multiplicity of gods of nature and ancestors were viewed as parts of Di, and the four 方 fāng ("directions" or "sides") and their 風 fēng ("winds") as his cosmic will. Zoroastrianism (琐罗亚斯德教 Suǒluōyàsīdéjiào or 祆教 Xiānjiào, "Heaven worship teaching"; also named 波斯教 Bōsījiào, "Persian teaching"; also 拜火教 Bàihuǒjiào, "fire-worshippers' transmission"; also 白頭教 Báitóujiào, "old age teaching")[387][388]:149 was first introduced in northern China in the 4th century, or even earlier, by the Sogdians, and it developed through three stages. [223] Since the 2000s, Chinese scholars have proposed names to identify it more clearly, including "Chinese native religion" or "Chinese indigenous religion" (民俗宗教 mínsú zōngjiào), "Chinese ethnic religion" (民族宗教 mínzú zōngjiào), or simply "Chinese religion" (中華教 Zhōnghuájiào), "Shenism" (神教 Shénjiào) and "Shenxianism" (神仙教 Shénxiānjiào, "religion of deities and immortals"). Like the wu, the fashi identify with their deity, but while the wu embody wild forces, vernacular ritual masters represent order like the Taoists. [303] What Confucianism did was to marginalise the features of old shamanism which were dysfunctional for the new political regime. Most online reference entries and articles do not have page numbers. [111] In surveys, few people identify as "Taoists" because to most Chinese this term refers to ordained priests of the religion. [175], Han Chinese culture is marked by a "harmonious holism"[176] in which religious expression is syncretic and religious systems encompass elements that grow, change, and transform but remain within an organic whole. He was educated in Shang-Zhou theology, which he contributed to transmit and reformulate giving centrality to self-cultivation and human agency,[21] and the educational power of the self-established individual in assisting others to establish themselves (the principle of 愛人 àirén, "loving others"). The Christian community was more likely than other religions to have members belonging to the ethnic minorities. [270], Broadly speaking, however, scholars agree that Confucianism may be also defined as an ethico-political system, developed from the teachings of the philosopher Confucius (551–479 BCE). Yü, Chün-fang. Chinese folk religion comprises the religion practiced in much of China for thousands of years which included ancestor veneration and drew heavily upon ideas and beings inside Chinese mythology. Although the two types of priests, daoshi and fashi, have the same roles in Chinese society—in that they may marry and they perform rituals for communities' temples or private homes—Zhengyi daoshi emphasise their Taoist tradition, distinguished from the vernacular tradition of the fashi. Chinese Folk Religion. [177], This primordial sense of ritual united the moral and the religious and drew no boundaries between family, social, and political life. In the early twenty-first century there has been increasing official recognition of Confucianism and Chinese folk religion as part of China's cultural inheritance. Refer to each style’s convention regarding the best way to format page numbers and retrieval dates. Identification. ", which has involved "destroying crosses, burning bibles, shutting churches and ordering followers to sign papers renouncing their faith".[107]. Encyclopedia.com. [200], By the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE) the various sources of Taoism coalesced into a coherent tradition of religious organisations and orders of ritualists. [385] Manichaeism is thought to have exerted a strong influence on some of the currents of popular sects, such as that which gave rise to Xiantiandao. Commercial travel opened China to influences from foreign cultures. The populations surveyed were those of the provinces of. Han philosophers conceived the immanent virtue of Tian as working through earth and humanity to complete the 宇宙 yǔzhòu ("space-time"). In Confucian thought, human beings are always teachable, improvable, and perfectible through personal and communal endeavor of self-cultivation and self-creation. Chinese popular or Folk Religion Is The Biggest Religion In China. China hosted religious meetings and conferences including the first World Buddhist Forum in 2006 and the subsequent World Buddhist Forums, a number of international Taoist meetings and local conferences on folk religions. Quote: "According to Dean, 'in the rural sector... if one takes a rough figure of 1000 people per village living in 680,000 administrative villages and assume an average of two or three temples per village, one arrives at a figure of over 680 million villagers involved in some way with well over a million temples and their rituals'. Separately, a 2012 Pew Research Center report found that more than 294 million people, or 21 percent of China’s population, practice folk religions. The wall is covered with all the names of the Mongol kins. [314] Theravada Buddhism suffered from persecution during the Cultural Revolution, but after the 1980s it was revived. The government of China officially espouses state atheism,[3] but in reality most of Chinese citizens (including Communist Party members) practice some kind of Chinese folk religion, especially Confucianism. [294] Contrarywise, Zhengyi daoshi, also known as sanju daoshi ("scattered" or "diffused" Taoists) or huoju daoshi (Taoists "who live at home"), are priests who may marry and have other jobs besides the sacerdotal office; they live among the population and perform Taoist rituals within common Chinese religion, for local temples and communities. Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Taoism…religion in Beijing is as diverse as its architecture; temples, churches, mosques and synagogues are all present. Some of the basic Confucian ethical and practical concepts include rén, yì, lǐ, and zhì. The people living in Yunnan where Theravada Buddhism is widespread follow norms similar to those of Thai Buddhists, and their Buddhism is often blended with local folk beliefs. Tibetan Buddhists recognised the Dalai Lama as their spiritual and temporal leader. In its interior, the temple enshrines a statue of Genghis Khan (at the center) and four of his men on each side (the total making nine, a symbolic number in Mongolian culture), there is an altar where offerings to the godly men are made, and three white suldes made with white horse hair. [153], Folk religious movements of salvation have historically been more successful in the central plains and in the northeastern provinces than in southern China, and central-northern popular religion shares characteristics of some of the sects, such as the great importance given to mother goddess worship and shamanism,[154] as well as their scriptural transmission. As of 2010 approximately 5% of the population of Macau self-identifies as Christian, predominantly Catholic.[163]. You will probably encounter Confucianism and Confucian thoughts and principles during your time in China. Encyclopedia of Buddhism. All three traditional beliefs, at one time or another overlapped, to help shape Chinese culture and traditions. Data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) 2012. FOLK RELIGION, CHINAMuch has been written about Buddhism's conversation with Confucianism and Daoism since its arrival in China by the first century c.e. Worship of Mithra was indeed performed at the court of Emperor Wu of Han (157-87 BCE). [294] Quanzhen daoshi are celibate monks, and therefore the Taoist temples of the Quanzhen school are monasteries. The wealth of Buddhist institutions was among the practical reasons—the ideal reason was that Buddhism was a "foreign religion"—why the Tang emperors decided to enact a wave of persecutions of the religion, starting with the Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution (845) by Emperor Wuzong, through which many monasteries were destroyed and the religion's influence in China was greatly reduced. They draw out the ten thousand things". [237] Taoism in its various currents, either comprehended or not within Chinese folk religion, has some of its origins from Chinese shamanism (Wuism). Most Chinese were allowed to worship as they felt best. Fundamental elements of a theology and spiritual explanation for the nature of the universe harken back to this period and were further elaborated in the Axial Age. [279], The idea of a "Confucian Church" as the state religion of China has roots in the thought of Kang Youwei (1858–1927), an exponent of the early New Confucian search for a regeneration of the social relevance of Confucianism at a time when it fell out of favour with the fall of the Qing dynasty and the end of the Chinese empire. By the Han dynasty, the universal God of early Shang-Zhou theology had found new expression by the names of Tàiyǐ (太乙 "Great Oneness"), "Supreme Oneness of the Central Yellow" (中黄太乙 Zhōnghuáng Tàiyǐ), or the "Yellow God of the Northern Dipper (i.e. Taoist or Confucian Philosophies have many followers in Shandong Province and the northeastern provinces. The office of Director General of Shipping was consistently held by a Muslim. Although "spiritual practices" such as the Falun Gong were banned and practitioners have been persecuted since 1999, local authorities were likely to follow a hands-off policy towards other religions. The second phase of Zoroastrianism in China was in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (907–960), and saw the development of an indigenous Chinese Zoroastrianism that lasted until modern times. Three surveys conducted respectively in 2005, 2006 and 2007 by the Horizon Research Consultancy Group on a disproportionately urban and suburban sample, found that Buddhists constituted between 11% and 16% of the total population, Christians were between 2% and 4%, and Muslims approximately 1%. Thais began to bring copies of the Pali canon to Yunnan, to translate the scriptures and to build new temples. In spite of such attempts at symbolic hegemony, Buddhism never came to dominate Chinese folk religion, either symbolically or institutionally. 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