CHANGING BELIEFS IN URBAN CHINA 19952005

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CHANGING BELIEFS IN URBAN CHINA 1995-2005

• PROFESSOR XINZHONG YAO
• UNIVERSITY OF WALES, LAMPETER

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• Julian F. Pas
• Among the masses of the common people, there
  seems to be a lack, perhaps total lack, of
  interest in religion. This is based on my own
  (limited) observations of the Chinese people,
  especially in the citiesdaily life has
  apparently nothing to do with religion (Julian
  Pas (ed.) The Turning of the TideReligion in
  China Today, Oxford University Press, 1989,
  15-16).

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1995 Survey

• The Current Situation of Faiths of Chinese
  Citizens (?????????,??????????????, 2000
  http//www.horizonkey.com/update/showsoft.asp?soft
  _id175 )
• Six Cities Nantong ??, Baoding ??, Beijing
  ??,Shanghai ??,Wuhan ??and Guangzhou ??
• Returned copies of questionnaire 1,350 Valid
  number 1,324 (98.1) Survey Date December
  1995 Data processing SPSS6.0

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Survey Samples in Six Cities 2005
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1995 China and The World What values?
(http//www.horizonkey.com/update/showsoft.asp?sof
t_id175)
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2005 Whether or not you have taken part in
religious activities you think you are
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Having Faith and Being Religious

• A small portion of the population would openly
  appreciate religious values or admit they are
  religious (???)
• In 1995 survey, 2 of the surveyed regarded
  having faith (???)as a true value
• In 2005 survey, however, 5.3 admit openly that
  they are religious (????)

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Chinese Religiosity

• 1. Negative perception of Religion
• 2. Antagonism and Co-existence between science
  and spirituality, and between religious and
  non-religious
• 3. Practising but not necessarily believing,
  believing but not necessarily belonging
• 4. Syncretic Beliefs and Practices

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1. Negative Perception of Religion

• Belief/faith and Xinyang (??), Religion and
  Zongjiao (??), Being religious and Xin zongjiao
  (???)
• Religion/spirituality superstition (zongjiao
  mixin ????) religion and feudalist superstition
  (fengjian mixin)
• Worries about political implications being
  religious practising Falungong ???

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A non-religious nation?

• You xinyang ??? is not identical with xin
  zongjiao??? In 1995, 98 did not take you
  xinyang as a highly appreciated value
• In 2005 the majority of urban Chinese claimed to
  be non-religious (51.8) and atheists (32.9)
• The delicate line between religious (5.3) and
  non-religious (51.8)
• In 2005, as high as 9.5 claimed they did not
  understand or could not say clearly about this
  question.

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2. Religious vs. non-religious rational vs.
spiritual

• 1995
• 75.3 believed science to be the only source of
  truth
• 57 said that they were interested in mysticism
  or mystical phenomena or things that were beyond
  scientific explanations.
• 2005
• 26.2 for religion is none other than cheating
  nonsense, but 30.9 agreed religion contains a
  profound philosophy.
• 17.7 agreed religion is the spiritual opium for
  the people, but 16.2 agreed that religion
  enables people to have a healthy and sound
  psychology.
• 17.8 believed religion is a tool of the
  government, 19.2 upheld religion makes society
  more harmonious.

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3. Structure of religious life among urban Chinese

• A three tier Pyramid
• At the bottom is practice
• (burning incense, prayer, donation..)
• In the middle is religious beliefs
• such as spirits, buddhas, immortals
• At the top is religious
• identity where one belongs
• to a particular religious
• tradition Buddhists
• , Christians, etc.

Religious Identity
Religious Beliefs
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3-1 Believing vs. practising (1995)

• 7.3 highly valuing belief in Buddhas or
  Bodhisattvas and 1.3 in immortals (shen xian),
  but 23.8 said that they burned incense and made
  religious wishes at Buddhist or Daoist temples
• 4.6 believing in the blessing of ancestors and
  1.5 in ghosts/spirits (gui sheng). But 53.9
  said they had burned paper money or offered
  sacrifices to the graves of their ancestors
• 2.2 believing in God or Jesus, but 3.7 reported
  that they had attended Christmas services at
  churches.

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3-2 Identity, Believing practising (2005)

• In 2005 Survey, 5.3 claim to be religious
• 8.9 believed in the existence of spirits,
  spiritual powers and ghosts (????) 17.1
  believed that one would be blessed by spiritual
  powers(??) if paying sincere homage to them
• 23.8 agreed that timely sacrificing would bring
  about the blessing and protection of ancestors
  27.1 agreed that good or bad fengshui ?? would
  affect ones or the familys future

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2005Did you worship (??) the following religious
figures/powers in the past year?
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1995-2005Practising but not believing, believing
but not belonging Buddhism

• In 1995 we have no statistics about Buddhists,
  only 7.5 claimed that the Buddha/Bodhisattvas
  were truly believable while in 2005

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1995-2005Believing, practising and belonging
Christianity

• 1995no information available except 2.2 chose
  belief in God/Jesus as believable, and 84.2 and
  84.1 were familiar with God and Jesus
  respectively
• 2005 2.3 Christians (1.7 Protestants and 0.6
  Catholics)
• However, 4.2 reported to have worshipped God in
  the past year 5.8 reported to have experienced
  the power of God or Will of God
• 10.9 reported to have experienced a sudden
  realisation that God/Lord of Heaven has
  prearranged everything and that what one must do
  was only to follow the teaching of God.

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4. Syncretic Beliefs and Practices (worshipers
and believers)
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Conclusion Changing Beliefs

• Beliefs of urban Chinese were changing in the
  period of 1995-2005
• More people turned to religious powers for
  spiritual wellbeing
• Chinese beliefs became more diverse and syncretic
• Religion was significantly commercialised
• Spiritualism and agnosticism co-existed

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