Managing religion in contemporary China : the case of Islam

english

2011

islam 

Inštitut za narodnostna vprašanja
(Obvezni izvod spletne publikacije)

Focusing on the example of Islam, this article examines the legal development and practical implementation of religious policy in the People's Republic of China (PRC) since 1978, with emphasis on the last decade. The author first identifies the main principles guiding contemporary PRC management of religionand scrutinizes some of the key legal concepts, e.g., "normal religious activities". She then critically assesses the 2005 Regulations on Religious Affairs, before highlighting how the loose legal formulations allow identical or similar religious beliefs and activities to be treated differently in practice. This is achieved by comparing state attitudes to issues of training religious professionals, religious participation of minors,religious expression of state employees and students, and freedom of religious press in the cases of the Hui and Uyghur ethnic minorities. The author concludes that despite China's supposed attempt to introduce the rule of law into the management of religion, the distinction between legal and illegal religious activities remains circumscribed by the question of political loyalty.

05.11.2014