Religion and social stability: China's religious policies in the Age of Reform

Under a strongly entrenched and powerful regime since the Han Dynasty, China has formed a unique state-lead, church-follow' model, in which the secular regime always incorporates religious affairs into its national administration. The Chinese Communist Party's religious policy has largely remained an inheritance of the practice dating back to ancient times. In response to the great religious awakening' in the age of reform, especially the political risks that religion was seen to pose after the downfall of the USSR and the disintegration of the Communist bloc in Eastern Europe, the Party proposed a policy of management of religious affairs according to law'. This self-centred' policy is being challenged, yet is crucial to social and political stability.