Deng Xiaoping (1904–1997)

Religion before Deng

Prior to Deng's return to government in 1977 (after his ouster in 1966 during the Cultural Revolution and again by the Gang of Four in 1976, having been reinstated by Zhou Enlai in 1973), the public practice of religion in China had essentially been extinguished. During the Cultural Revolution, religious buildings were destroyed, and clergy and laity were persecuted and killed. However, many religious believers continued to gather and worship clandestinely in private homes during this period.

Policy Changes

Under Deng, the official religious associations that had been eliminated during the Cultural Revolution were resurrected, the Bureau of Religious Affairs was reestablished to act as the liaison between the government and religious denominations, and theological seminaries (in which political study was required) were restored. In addition, Article 36 of the 1982 People's Republic of China constitution, which reflects Deng's ideas on how to modernize China, reads as follows:

However, Merle Goldman points out that China's leaders have frequently demonstrated disregard for the constitution throughout Chinese Communist history. Moreover, the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) policy continued to privilege the freedom not to believe in religion. For example, party members were prohibited from believing in or participating in religion in “Document No. 19,” a directive comprehensively outlining policies on religion as part of Deng's “reform and opening” that was promulgated by the CCP Central Committee in 1982. The basic policy outlined in Document 19, according to Pitman Potter, was one of respect for and protection of the freedom of religious belief, pending such future time when religion itself would disappear. While the freedom of religious belief was explicitly guaranteed, the freedom of religious practice, to be administered by the state, was notably not. Moreover, only five religions, Buddhism, Daoism, Islam, Catholicism, and Protestantism, were recognized, in part to exclude folk religions, superstition, and cults from protection.

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