China Religion
China (includes Hong Kong and Macau)
(Note: The Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) is discussed in a separate annex at the end of this report.) The Constitution provides for freedom of religious belief and the freedom not to believe; however, the Government seeks to restrict religious practice to government-sanctioned organizations and registered places of worship and to control the growth and scope of the activity of religious groups. Membership in many faiths is growing rapidly; however, while the Government generally does not seek to suppress this growth outright, it tries to control and regulate religious groups to prevent the rise of groups or sources of authority outside the control of the Government and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and cracks down on groups that it perceives to pose a threat. ... [Read More]
China (03/05)
Religion ... Religions: Officially atheist; Taoism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity. ... The State Department’s annual China human rights reports have noted China’s well-documented abuses of human rights in violation of internationally recognized norms, stemming both from the authorities’ intolerance of dissent and the inadequacy of legal safeguards for basic freedoms. Abuses reported have included arbitrary and lengthy incommunicado detention, forced confessions, torture, and mistreatment of prisoners as well as severe restrictions on freedom of speech, the press, assembly, association, religion, privacy, and worker rights. ... [Read More]
China (includes Taiwan only)
The Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the authorities generally respect this right in practice.There was no change in the status of respect for religious freedom during the period covered by this report, and the authorities' policy continued to contribute to the generally free practice of religion. The generally amicable relationship among religions in society contributed to religious freedom. The American Institute in Taiwan discusses religious freedom issues with the authorities as part of its overall policy to promote human rights. Section I. Religious Demography Taiwan has a total area of approximately 13,892square miles, and its population is approximately 23 million. While the authorities do not collect or ... [Read More]
International Religious Freedom Report 2002: China (includes Taiwan only)
Taiwan is a group of islands located in the Western Pacific Ocean off the east coast of mainland China, with a total area of approximately 13,800 square miles and a population of approximately 23 million. While the authorities do not maintain separate official statistics on religious affiliation, registration statistics suggest that of the total population, approximately 5,486,000 (23.9 percent) are Buddhist; 4,546,000 (19.8 percent) are Taoist; 887,000 (3.9 percent) follow I Kuan Tao; 605,000 (2.6 percent) are Protestant; 298,000 (1.3 percent) are Roman Catholic; 260,000 (1.1 percent) follow Tien Ti Chiao (Heaven Emperor Religion); 200,000 (0.9 percent) follow Tien Te Chiao (Heaven Virtue Religion); 187,000 (0.8 percent) follow Li-ism; 150,000 (0.7 percent) follow Hsuan Yuan Chiao (Yellow Emperor Religion); 100,000 (0.4 percent) follow Maitraya Great Tao; 96,000 (0.4 percent) follow the Chinese Holy Religion; 53,000 (0.2 percent) are Sunni Muslim; 31,500 (0.1 percent) fo ... [Read More]
China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)
The Basic Law provides for freedom of conscience and religious belief as well as freedom to preach and to conduct and participate in religious activities. The Freedom of Religion Ordinance provides for freedom of religion, privacy of religious belief, freedom of religious assembly, freedom to hold religious processions, and freedom of religious education. The SAR Government generally respected these rights in practice. There is no state religion. ... Traditional folk religions have been revived in recent years and were widespread. They were tolerated to varying degrees, often seen as loose affiliates of Taoism or as ethnic minority cultural practices. However, at the same time, folk religions have been labeled as "feudal superstition" and sometimes were repressed because their resurgence was seen as a threat to party control. Local authorities have destroyed thousands of shrines. ... [Read More]
International Religious Freedom Report 2002: China (includes Hong Kong and Macau)
The Department of State, U.S. officials in Beijing, and the Consulates General in Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Shenyang make a concerted effort to encourage greater religious freedom in the country, using both focused external pressure on abuses and support for positive trends within the country. In exchanges with the Government, including with religious affairs officials, diplomatic personnel consistently urge both central and local authorities to respect citizens' rights to religious freedom. U.S. officials protest vigorously whenever there are credible reports of religious harassment or discrimination in violation of international laws and standards, and request information in cases of alleged mistreatment in which the facts are incomplete or contradictory. At the same time, U.S. officials make the case to the country's leaders that freedom of religion can strengthen, not harm, the country. In February 2002, President Bush gave a speech at Tsinghua Unive ... [Read More]
China (includes Taiwan only)
The Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the authorities generally respect this right in practice. There was no change in the status of respect for religious freedom during the period covered by this report, and government policy continued to contribute to the generally free practice of religion. The generally amicable relationship among religions in society contributed to religious freedom. The American Institute in Taiwan discusses religious freedom issues with the authorities in the context of its overall dialog and policy of promoting human rights.Section I. Religious Demography Taiwan is a group of islands with a total land area of approximately 1 ... [Read More]
China (includes Taiwan only)
Taiwan is a group of islands located in the Western Pacific Ocean off the east coast of mainland China, with a total area of approximately 13,800 square miles and a population of approximately 23 million. While the authorities do not maintain separate official statistics on religious affiliation, registration statistics suggest that of the total population, approximately 5,486,000 (23.9 percent) are Buddhist; 4,546,000 (19.8 percent) are Taoist; 845,000 (3.7 percent) follow I Kuan Tao; 605,000 (2.6 percent) are Protestant; 298,000 (1.3 percent) are Roman Catholic; 260,000 (1.1 percent) follow Tien Ti Chiao (Heaven Emperor Religion); 200,000 (0.9 percent) follow Tien Te Chiao (Heaven Virtue Religion); 169,000 (0.8 percent) follow Li-ism; 150,000 (0.7 percent) follow Hsuan Yuan Chiao (Yellow Emperor Religion); 100,000 (0.4 percent) follow Maitreya Great Tao; 53,000 (0.2 percent) are Sunni Muslim; and 30,000 (0.1 percent) follow Tien Li Chiao (Heaven Reason Religion). In addition, approxi ... [Read More]
China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)
The Basic Law provides for freedom of conscience and religious belief as well as freedom to preach and to conduct and participate in religious activities, and the Government generally respected these rights in practice. The Freedom of Religion Ordinance provides for freedom of religion, privacy of religious belief, freedom of religious assembly, freedom to hold religious processions, and freedom of religious education. There is no state religion. ... [Read More]
China (Includes Hong Kong and Macau)
The law does not prohibit religious believers from holding public office; however, most influential positions in government are reserved for Party members, and Communist Party officials state that Party membership and religious belief are incompatible. This has a disproportionate effect in such minority-inhabited areas as Xinjiang and Tibet. Party membership also is required for almost all high-level positions in government and in state-owned businesses and organizations. The Communist Party reportedly has issued circulars ordering Party members not to adhere to religious beliefs, and to remind Party cadres that religion was incompatible with Party membership, a theme reflected in authoritative media. The "Routine Service Regulations" of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) state explicitly that servicemen "may not take part in religious or superstitious activities." Party and PLA military personnel were expelled for adhering to the Falun Gong movement. On December 13, all seven members ... [Read More]
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