Chinese Religions

The conventional view is that Chinese religions, which place an emphasis on filial piety and female submissiveness, are uniformly patriarchal. This interpretation ignores important variations within these traditions that often provide religious roles that empower women. Any account of religion in China must also consider the consequences of Communist rule on religious belief and practice.

There is a long-standing academic debate as to whether there are any Chinese religions. Belief in a High God is largely absent from Asian religious cultures, and Confucianism is a state ideology relating to social order and respect for authority. Similarly, Buddhism may be thought of as “the Righteous Way,” or the dharma, which develops meditation practices to regulate desire. Daoism is typically a set of beliefs and practices promoting health and longevity through various exercises such as breathing techniques (qigong). Syncretism is also a notable characteristic of religion in China, especially between Buddhism and Daoism, and hence these traditions overlap with each other.

There was some cultural division of labor in China, in which Confucianism was important in family concerns, Buddhism for death and funeral services, and Daoism for psychological and health matters. These religious traditions share in common ancestor worship, filial piety, and the absence of any sacerdotal priesthood and congregational organizations. It is also important to distinguish between the literary “official religion” and their religions’ constitutive texts-such as The Analects of Confucius or the Pali Canon of Buddhism-and popular or folk religion, with its pantheon of deities, spirits, sacred persons, cultural heroes, and the ubiquitous Chinese Dragon. Finally, although they are not Chinese religions as such, Christianity, which first entered China in the [Page 284]7th century, was important in creating educational institutions and in opposing footbinding, and Muslims, who came along trade routes as early as the 7th century, migrated in large numbers to China during the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368).

Because Chinese religions do not have congregations or membership, it is difficult to calculate their relative size and influence, and estimates of religious adherence vary greatly. In addition, all religions were suppressed under Communist rule, and during the Cultural Revolution (1966-76), churches, temples, and ancestral shrines were destroyed, while Mao Zedong's atheism was rigorously enforced by the Red Guards.