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Religion in China

Religion in China
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Religion in China. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
last updated:
9 September, 2024
Kongzi, also known as Confucius, preferred to focus on the here and now rather than on deities. Photo: Getty Images
Lessons from China's history

Reflections | Is God there? Yes, said China’s Confucius, but so what?

Chinese philosopher Kongzi, also known as Confucius, put no faith in deities, preferring to focus on the here and now.

US-China relations

3 Uygurs freed as part of US-China prisoner exchange: report

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China-Vatican relations

China and Vatican agree to extend deal on bishop appointments for 4 more years

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Lessons from China's history

Reflections | Why China avoided the wars of religion that consumed other places

Different faiths have coexisted more or less peacefully throughout Chinese history, with foreign religions accepted and later on Sinicised.

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Buddhist art in the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang, in Gansu province, China. Different religions and belief systems have co-existed more or less peacefully throughout Chinese history. Photo: Getty Images
Trending in China

Panic as Taiwanese woman takes temple statue home for DIY paint job

Woman keeps 3 deity statues at home, often takes others from temples to expand her collection.

Pope Francis

Pope calls Beijing ‘a promise and hope’ for church in new overture to China

Francis says China has ‘a capacity for dialogue and understanding that goes beyond other systems of democracy’ and says he wants to visit.

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China’s Communist Party

Buddhists urged to obey reincarnation rules as Dalai Lama mulls successor

Top monks and religious experts gather for seminar aimed at making Tibetan Buddhism ‘compatible with socialist society’.

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Monks and religious experts attend a meeting in Lanzhou, Gansu province on Tuesday about policies and regulations governing the “reincarnation of living Buddhas” in Tibetan Buddhism. Photo: Weibo/琼布活佛
Human rights in China

China’s ‘problematic laws’ remain in Xinjiang years after damning report: UN

The UN’s human rights body had cited policies in Xinjiang that ‘may constitute crimes against humanity’.

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Chinese culture

Reflections | Chinese Peranakans are proof great things can emerge despite cultural loss

Early Chinese settlers in Southeast Asia gained from assimilating with locals, as did foreign migrants to China. They offer a positive example to Chinese in Singapore and Malaysia who fret over their heritage.

Chinese history

How introduction of Catholicism impacted Chinese beliefs of retribution

Catholicism was decriminalised in China in 1669, opening up an era of ethical debate and ideological dynamism.

As Catholicism gained acceptance in China during Emperor Kangxi’s reign some 360 years ago, it intricately intertwined with local beliefs, notably Buddhism and indigenous folk religions. Photo: SCMP composite/Shutterstock
Lessons from China's history

Reflections | He said he was Jesus’ brother. His Taiping Rebellion doomed Qing dynasty

New religious movements are common. Followers of a Malaysian ‘Teacher’ worship a ‘Creator’. China’s Qing dynasty never got over its brutal military suppression of such a movement, the Taiping Rebellion.

A drawing of Hong Xiuquan, a Hakka Chinese who led the Taiping Rebellion against China’s Qing dynasty. Its brutal suppression by imperial troops left 20 to 30 million people dead. Photo: Getty Images
Hong Kong society

Letters | Hong Kong should uphold Muslim women’s right to wear the hijab

Readers discuss the importance of the freedom of religion in a cosmopolitan city, the need for sensible rules to reduce plastic waste, and the ICC’s demand for accountability in Gaza war.

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Lessons from China's history

Reflections | As Hong Kong chases Muslim Mideast money, memories of China’s oldest mosque

An hour by high-speed train from Hong Kong, in Guangzhou, is the Huaisheng Mosque, which probably dates from the 10th century, some three centuries after Muslims began settling in the city.

Trending in China

China killer lives double life as monk and husband snared after 23 years on run

A fugitive killer in China who escaped after murdering two people in 2001, has been captured after police received a tip-off which led them to uncover details of his bizarre secret life.

A fugitive in China, wanted for the murder of two people 23 years ago, has been caught by police who discovered that he has been living a bizarre double life as a man of religion. Photo: SCMP composite/Shutterstock/The Paper
Trending in China

Profile | Why China actress is worshipped as sea goddess Mazu in mainland coastal areas

People in a coastal province in China are convinced that the actress who played a popular deity in a TV series is actually the real thing and kneel before photos of her.

Why is this actress worshipped as sea goddess Mazu in China? Many believe Liu Tao is a living god who protects seafarers. Photo: SCMP composite/Sohu/Zhihu
Chinese culture

5 things to know about Ching Ming, the Chinese tomb sweeping festival

Ching Ming is an occasion for Chinese families to honour their dead by burning paper money and objects useful in the afterlife, offering food and wine, and clearing tombs of dust, weeds and debris.

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China’s Communist Party

China’s top political adviser calls to deepen ‘sinicisation of Christianity’

Leaders of China’s Christian groups should ‘adhere to the direction of sinicisation of Christianity’, core values of socialism and traditional Chinese culture, Wang Huning says.

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Hong Kong society

Beijing’s top Catholic cleric visits Hong Kong to bolster ties between dioceses

Bishop Joseph Li is on ‘reciprocal visit’, the first by Beijing’s top Catholic cleric since Hong Kong’s return to Chinese rule, following counterpart’s trip to capital.

Bishop Joseph Li (right) on the first day of his trip to Hong Kong. His visit comes amid seemingly improving relations between the Vatican and mainland China. Photo: Handout
US-China relations

US seafood supply chain ripe for China human rights violations, panel told

Forced labour hearing follows investigation finding at least 1,000 Uygurs moved from Xinjiang to Shandong province to process seafood supplying American brands.

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US-China relations

Coming UN human rights body vote may widen US-China distance

Beijing’s critics are pushing for voting countries in Asia to leave their ballots blank, but Washington’s track record on human rights hurts its standing.

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Hong Kong

Editorial | Vatican raises hopes with new role for Hong Kong’s Chow

By making city bishop Stephen Chow Sau-yan a cardinal, Rome has established an important bridge between mainland China and the church

Newly elected Cardinal Stephen Chow, Bishop of Hong Kong (right) receives his biretta from Pope Francis as he is elevated in St. Peter’s Square at The Vatican. Photo: AP
Hong Kong society

Hong Kong’s top Catholic priest Stephen Chow made a cardinal by Pope Francis

Chow was among 21 bishops promoted in ceremony hosted by pontiff at St Peter’s Square, making him fourth in city’s history to hold the title.

Chow follows in the footsteps of late John Baptist Wu Cheng-chung, Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, 91, and John Tong Hon, 83. Photo: AP
Hong Kong politics

Hong Kong’s Anglican cathedral to display Chinese flag on National Day

St John’s Cathedral says the national flag will be placed near the pulpit during the 10.30am service conducted in Mandarin on October 1.

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Chinese culture

An exorcist tells us how to avoid spirits during Hong Kong’s most haunted month

Hong Kong society

‘We can’t punish students for learning the Koran,’ Hong Kong’s chief imam tells teachers

Community responds to case of boy who needed surgery after religious teacher allegedly slapped him.

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Chief imam Mufti Muhammad Arshad (left) at Kowloon Mosque in Tsim Sha Tsui. Photo: Jonathan Wong
Hong Kong

Editorial | Chow gives boost to reconciliation hopes

On his elevation to cardinal, the head of the Hong Kong Catholic diocese, Stephen Chow Sau-yan, has renewed calls for peace in a divided society and pledged to reach out to mainland China.

Stephen Chow Sau-yan, Hong Kong’s Catholic Bishop, meets the media outside the Catholic Diocese Centre. Photo: Jelly Tse
Hong Kong politics

New Hong Kong Cardinal Stephen Chow says elevation has given him ‘new mission’

Hongkongers need ‘chance to take a break, reconcile and calm down’, which will require ‘cooperation of many parties’, Chow says

Luxury in China

Why is China obsessed with luxury brands? Here are a few factors …

A Twitter spat has erupted over a contentious new book claiming China’s luxury boom is all down to a quest for ‘identity’ in the of absence of religions and traditions – here’s everything you need to know

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