China: Freedom from Religion
It is a unique experience to write, from China, on the subject of religion in China, while watching coverage of the hottest religious subject in my own country: some nutty pastor in Florida who intended to burn a pile of Qurans to “celebrate” the events of September 11th.
Of course the Chinese press realized all too well that this fellow was a monster, and enjoyed laughing at him in major newspapers across the country. But the case served to reinforce one point clearly: an absence of public displays of religion prevent just this sort of nonsense from happening in mainland China, and that in itself is more than enough for the author to endorse much of China’s policy toward religion.
Personal practice of religion is by no means banned here in the PRC, despite the inaccurate rantings of a few desperate Cold Warriors in the United States who long for the bygone days of Reagan (or, to my disbelief, Bush II). An entire province, Ningxia, was set
aside for Han practitioners of Islam, many of whom claimed a separate ethnic identity in the 1950s and were granted this along with their province. Daoism, a complicated religious and philosophical system which has made only the smallest pinprick of headway into the United States, is a widely held belief among Chinese, as is Chan (Zen) Buddhism. Much ballyhooing has been made of Tibetan Buddhism, but at the end of the day Tibetan adherents are permitted to practice their religion so long as it does not interfere with the authority of the Chinese state. A Chinese Christian is a little more difficult to find, but they do exist.
What’s missing? I’ll tell you precisely what’s missing: Pat Robertson spewing bigotry on The 700 Club. Pastors burning Qurans. Imams burning Bibles. Pastors and Imams decrying Jews. Roman Catholic clergy sexually abusing children. Mormons knocking on my door every
other Sunday morning at 8 AM, asking me if I’ve heard the good news of Joseph Smith (“Why yes, in fact you told me last week!”) If these are the sort of things you enjoy, I suppose the chaos of the American religious landscape is indeed for you. So far, I much prefer what I’ve dubbed “freedom from religion.”
To state things in more organic terms, America’s policy of no state involvement with religion has enabled, to borrow a Chinese turn of phrase, a hundred flowers to bloom and a hundred schools of thought to compete. The Protestant majority has amassed ample money and
corresponding political power, and for the last 50 years has made increasingly bold inroads into the political process. I scarcely need remind the reader of Bush’s crusader mentality in his Middle East war policies. Now an entirely new, corporate sponsored and devoutly Christian (in every worst possible sense of the word) political movement threatens to break ranks with the “moderate” conservatives in the Republican Party.
Religion has played far too great a role in American society. In China, these things would have been choked at the roots. In other words, you are entitled to believe whatever nonsense you wish, but you keep it out of the public sphere.
The truth is, “separation of church and state” is an empty promise. In America we’ve more or less opted for church interference with state; in communist China, they’ve opted for the slightly more 21st century-oriented approach of state interference with the church, and it seem to be working out alright here. I’m routinely offered Bibles in the foreign-language bookstores (I’m a Buddhist), and not one week ago I enjoyed a pilgrimage to the sacred Daoist mountain Qingchengshan. In one week I will be in Lhasa and will be visiting fully-operational monasteries during my time there. Things are fine. At least nobody’s threatening to burn a pile of Bibles in Sichuan. –Jeff Rud
Comments
By thereadingwarrior on October 11th, 2010 at 9:53 pm
Totally agree.
Sometimes a lot of civil libertarians seem not to know what they really want. On the one hand, they want freedom “of” religion – to freely practise and believe whatever religion they want. Then they blindly support the underdog, which may be a very feudal, theocratic & backward religious regime (which may have lost her political clout/ power). Example – American support for Afghanistan mujahedeens against Soviet communists – support for Tibetan Lamaism against Communist China.
But when the tables are turned against these civil libertarians by a theocratic state, they have an outcry against theocracy and demand separation of state from religion – secularity or freedom “from” religion.
China still suffers bad publicity (unjustified) from Cold War propoganda of the “God-less infidels” or “Blasphemous” or “authoritarian regime” types….In the German movie Stalingrad, Nazi officers gave speeches comparing their war against Soviet Russia as a war by Western Christians against the unholy Communists who have no time for God.
People just tend to pick up whatever suits their purpose and forget the other end of the bargain.
By Kristiana on October 12th, 2010 at 1:21 am
Jeff ??, good article that exposes that China is not merely a totalitarian, draconian/neolithic beast out to attack everything in sight. Kudos!
However, you can’t deny that there still is religious tension within the P.R.C., in which “race” and “religion” have become blended into some nasty in-group/out-group divisions. In Lhasa there is still tension between the Hui/Muslim Han Chinese and the Tibetan Buddhists, and the city is partitioned likewise. Even during the 2008 protests, it was not simply the “Buddhist” Tibetans versus the “atheist” Han Chinese, but the Hui were victimized heavily as well.
And then of course there are the Uygurs…that’s another fun can of worms right there too. Especially when they are forced to move to other parts of the country. Last year’s riots in Urumqi were a result of a fight that broke out in Guangzhou (I believe…?) between Han Chinese and Uygurs. Someone correct me if this is wrong.
So…what makes this different from the U.S., where just like in China, the religious controversy does not come from government policy but from the ??? or the “average Joes” seizing political currents to wage a religious war? My point is, just because the Chinese politicians and media are obviously MUCH less “in-your-face” and that they do not prosthelytize doesn’t mean we should say that the problems that America has regarding religious intolerance don’t exist in China either.
And what about the fact that in order to become a monk in Tibet, you have to sign forms with the government pledging loyalty, which allegedly come into direct conflict with the vows of a Buddhist monk?
And what about the many Chinese (Han or otherwise) who worry about the state of their society, that it is developing into one that is overly materialistic but is lacking a true sense of “soul” (both in a philosophical as well as religious sense)? Many Chinese still admire (for better or worse) American religious culture for its vitality (for better or worse).
By ManifestDentistry on April 28th, 2011 at 12:16 am
Ironic that an entire article praising one of the more authoritarian regimes on the planet is found on a site entitled, “Eat the State”.
I don’t like organized religion as much as the next guy but I don’t condone using the power of the state to suppress them.
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