Essay on Religion in China

The religious affili­ations of the peoples of present-day China are difficult to determine, as the state does not recognize any religion and is pro­fessedly atheistic. However, 52 percent of the Chinese were officially listed as non-religious and 12 percent as atheists in 1980. But these statistics can be misleading as a large number of Chinese observe religious practices at home. A fifth of the popula­tion was listed officially as Chinese folk-religionists, 8.5 percent as Buddhists and 1.4 percent as Muslim.

The philosophic and moral codes of the Chinese are derived basically from the writings of two ancient sages, Confucius and Lao Zi, who have spelled out ethical precepts and views of life dating back to more than 2,000 years. Confucius, was born, it is said, in 551 B.C. His disciples put together a collection, called the Analects, of what was considered to be master’s ideas, which formed the basis for what was considered Confucianism.

The basic philosophies presented by Confu­cianism are rooted in the ideas that people should be content with their situation in life. It maintained the importance of tradi­tion, of loyalty to authority, and etiquette in the regulation of daily life. The state is considered merely an extension of the fam­ily. Confucianism as an ethical system is favored by China’s current rulers as it teaches obedience to higher authority.

In this sense, Confucianism has become more political and practical than ethical or meta­physical. It provides specific guidance how to live and how to rule the state. In a sense, Confucianism appears to be convention- bound and repressive, as compared to the other major current of the Chinese cul­ture, namely Daoism which allows for a more passive and relaxed role for the indi­vidual and the state.

The founder of Daoism, Lao Zi, was probably a contemporary of Confucius or lived a little later. He emphasized the love for and worship of nature. His philosophy espouses the simple life of a hermit, and encourages the individual to attain har­mony with nature and dismisses worldly strife. Daoism in reality is complementary to Confucianism, appeals as it does to the human desire for quiet contemplation of beauty, whereas Confucianism stresses the need for loyalty to the needs of family and society.

Both are ethical systems rather than formal religions. Neither system speaks of a hereafter—the need for which was provided by the religious philosophy of Buddhism that arrived from India, the land of its birth, to China in the 1st cen­tury A.D.

Buddhism, a third stream in Chinese culture contradicted the Confucian ideals of moderation and self-control, although it was highly spiritual and mystical, but rec­ommended quiet contemplation as advocated by Daosim. It was adopted by millions of Chinese over the centuries. And the proverbial Chinese hospitality to different systems of belief became the hall­mark of Chinese state.

Despite the fact that Confucianism was the state religion during much of Chinese history, many of the emperors were Buddhists. Even under Buddhist rulers, a thorough knowledge of the Confucius classics came to be consid­ered the essential qualification for government employment. A large part of the Chinese bureaucracy, consisting of civil servants, was recruited through ex­aminations testing the applicants’ knowledge of the Confucian canon.