China has a great diversity of religious beliefs. The main religions include Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism and Protestantism. Some ethnic groups have their own religions, such as the Bon Religion of Tibetans, the Shamanism of Mongols and the Dongba Religion of Na-khi. Chinese people enjoy the freedom of religious belief. It is one of the basic rights given to the China’s citizens by the constitution. According to incomplete statistics(2018), there are about 200 million followers of various faiths throughout China. Buddhists and Taoists constitute the majority of the religious people. However, it is difficult to define who is either a Buddhist or a Taoist. The minority of the religious followers approximately comprises 35 million Protestants with 57,000 clergy, 20 million Muslims with 57,000 clergy and 6 million Catholics with 8,000 clergy.
Buddhism has a 2000-year history in China. Currently, the number of Buddhist monks and nuns is about 222,000. They live in monasteries or nunneries. There are totally 335,000 Buddhist monasteries/nunneries in China, including 28,000 Mahayana monasteries/nunneries, 3,800 lamaseries and 1,700 Hinayana monasteries. Read more about Buddhism......
Taoism is the native religion of China. It was founded by Zhang Daoling around 1,800 years ago. Both Taoism and Confucianism have made a great impact on Chinese culture and tradition. Nowadays, there are about 40,000 Taoist priests/nuns and 9,000 Taoist temples throughout China. Read more about Taoism......
Protestantism was introduced to China in the early 19th century and widely spread after the Opium War which broke out in the year of 1840. At present, there are about 38 million Protestants, 57,000 clergy, 60,000 churches and meeting places in China. Read more about Protestantism in China......
Catholicism was originally brought to China in the seventh century. However, it did not spread widely among Chinese people in ancient times until the outbreak of the Opium War. So far, Catholicism has gained over 6 million Chinese followers. There are around 8,000 priests, 6,000 churches and meeting houses throughout China. Read more about the Catholicism in China......
Islam spread to China in the seventh century too. Nowadays, there are 10 Chinese ethnic groups who are Muslims, including the Hui Nationality and the Uighur. The total population of Muslims in China is over 20 million. Over 57,000 imams are working in mosques. There are totally 35,000 mosques all over the country. Read more about the Islam in China......
Following are the national organizations founded by various religious bodies: Buddhist Association of China, Taoist Association of China, Islamic Association of China, Chinese Patriotic and Catholic Association, Chinese Catholic Bishops' College, Three-Self Patriotic Movement Committee of the Protestant Churches of China, and China Christian Council. The religious organizations in China run their own affairs independently and set up religious schools, publish religious classics and periodicals, and run social services according to their own needs.
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Author: Tina Luo
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