China

Religion

China is one of great centres of world religious thought and practices. It is known especially as the birthplace of the religio-philosophical schools of Confucianism and Daoism (Taoism), belief systems that formed the basis of Chinese society and governance for centuries. Buddhism came to China perhaps as early as the 3rd century bce and was a recognized presence there by the 1st century ce. The country became an incubator for many of the great present-day Buddhist sects, including Zen (Chan) and Pure Land, and, by its extension into Tibet, the source of Tibetan Buddhism. In addition, hundreds of animist, folk, and syncretic religious practices developed in China, including the movement that spawned the Taiping Rebellion of the mid-19th century.

Tai, Mount: templesTemples on the slopes of Mount Tai, one of the five holy mountains of China, Shandong province, China.© Boris Stroujko/Shutterstock.com

The political and social upheavals in China during the first half of the 20th century had a disintegrating effect on Confucianism, Daoism, and (outside Tibet) Buddhism, and traditional observances of these were greatly weakened. From 1949 the country became officially atheist, although state-monitored religious practices continued to be allowed. However, some religions were persecuted, notably Tibetan Buddhism after China assumed military control of Tibet in 1959. The Chinese government has gradually relaxed many of its earlier restrictions on religious institutions and practices, but it still curtails those it considers threats to the social and political order (e.g., the spiritual exercise discipline called Falun Gong, or Falun Dafa).

Lhasa, Tibet, China: Potala PalacePotala Palace, a popular pilgrimage destination for Tibetan Buddhists, in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China.CQYoung—iStock/Thinkstock

About one-half of China’s people claim that they are nonreligious or atheist. Adherents to various indigenous folk religions, collectively about one-fifth of the total population, comprise the largest group of those professing a belief. Many Chinese who are identified as adherents of folk religions also embrace aspects and rituals of other religions. Members of non-Han minorities constitute the bulk of those following Buddhism and Islam. Christians are a small but significant and growing minority, many of them converts to Evangelical Protestant denominations.

China: Religious affiliationEncyclopædia Britannica, Inc.