Religion in China

It has often been said that the Chinese are not deeply religious. It is true that they have shown a comparative indifference to metaphysical speculation; Chinese culture was perhaps the first to develop an intellectual scepticism concerning the gods.

Attempts to manipulate the forces which shape the human and natural worlds have been a key element in all China's religious traditions. This is manifested in a complex mix of religious, superstitious and magical beliefs and practices. Popular religion has always been dismissed as 'superstition' by the intelligentsia, particularly Marxists. Yet the various folk traditions in the religion of the rural masses have a comparable preoccupation with this worldly concerns, expressed in earthbound beliefs in the gods of the family and the soil.

In their different ways most Chinese have shown themselves to be concerned primarily with the human person and society. In a predominantly rural country, this has manifested itself in a concern for the land and its prosperity. Thus religious practice has been closely linked with the question of the ownership of the land.

Persistent beliefs

The communist revolution sought to break these ancient connections, but with limited success. While the power of the clan or lineage has declined, the family has remained the focus of production. The rural reforms of recent years have reinforced this. Despite all attempts at re-education by the Communist Party the family cult associated with Confucianism and popular religion still flourishes throughout the countryside, as do so-called 'superstitious practices'

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Source : http://www.sacu.org/