Religious Policy in the People's Republic of China: an alternative perspective

During the first 30 years of its existence, the People's Republic of China (PRC) committed itself to making atheist Marxism the fundamental ideology of the country, depriving the Chinese people of their constitutional right of religious liberty. Since 1979, new policies, regulations, and legislation impacting religious freedom have been created and implemented. This paper proposes an unconventional framework for understanding China's religious policy. It attempts to explain the evolution of this policy through an analysis of the party's changing view of religion; the nature of its new religious policy and law; and the function of its supervision of religion. It calls for the consideration of the validity of a distinctive Chinese model in religious affairs similar to that which has evolved in economic development.