Despite being a secular state with most of its population belonging to no religion, modern China is a multi-ethnic, multi-religious civilisation with a history of religious tolerance going back at least 1000 years. Discover more about religion and morals in China – from Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, Islam and Christianity. Confucianism isn’t a religion – It has no gods and doesn't promise an afterlife. But for two and a half thousand years, the teachings of Confucius have profoundly affected the morals and behavior of Chinese people. Confucianism holds that humans are fundamentally good – and can improve through their own efforts. It lays emphasis on acting morally and treating others with compassion. It sees the family as the foundation stone of community and a harmonious society as the greatest good. Daoism is said to have been founded by Laozi and promotes the unity of opposites, spiritual virtue and self-development. Many Daoist sayings have become famous around the world… ‘Without darkness, there can be no light.’ ‘A journey of a thousand miles starts under your feet.’ Daoism has influenced China’s ancient folk religions and their festivities are still a major feature of Chinese life. Buddhism arrived in waves over the last two thousand years along the Silk road; over the Himalayas from India, and from south-east Asia. As a result, Chinese Buddhism is a unique blend of different schools mixed with folk religion and Daoism. Buddhism has had a strong influence on Chinese thought and culture and is the most popular religion in China today with more than 200,000 monks and nuns, and hundreds of millions of people who believe in Buddhism. Islam arrived in China with Arab traders and diplomats in the 7th century. Tang dynasty emperor, Taizong immediately made the welcoming gesture of building China’s first mosque which still stands in Guangzhou. Today Muslims are distributed through China, especially in areas inhabited by ethnic minorities, like the Hui who speak Mandarin and live mainly in the north and west. There are around 23 million Chinese Muslims. Christians first settled in China as early as the 700s; but numbers were small until the 20th century. Today, it’s growing fast with around tens of millions of Chinese Christians. In terms of belief, Chinese Christianity is the same as Christianity elsewhere, but the church administration is handled independently by the Chinese authorities. Despite this long-standing religious diversity, China has never suffered the cataclysm of religious wars.

• published: 02 Mar 2018
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