Chinese
Religion
The
religion in China can be described into various facets from the time
immemorial. In China, there are temples of varied religions,
especially those of Taoism, Buddhism and Chinese folk. The biggest
organised religion in China introduced in the first century CE is
the Mahayana Buddhism.
Most of the Chinese, particularly the secular
devotees, follow Buddhism and Taoism. In the past, more than 100
million of Chinese people took the first pledge to go for refuge.
While it is indefinite the religion of the number of adherents who
went for refuge as a few of them considers themselves as Buddhist
and Taoists and associates themselves with the traditional and
spiritual culture of China instead of true religions.
The
religion of China while being family-oriented can be classified as
religions, philosophies, spiritualities and different ways of life.
A minority of religion in China is based on Christianity, Islam,
Hinduism, Judaism, indigenous religions such as Dongbaism and Bon,
and some new religious movements such as Xiantianism and Falun Gong.
In
China, believers are basically involved with concepts of a sacred
and spiritual natural world. Many Chinese still believe in serving
Shangdi, an invincible and Supreme Being which created a few
complications in the study of Chinese religion itself.
A majority of
Chinese also deem their spirituality in different practices or
thought systems such as Chinese folk religion, Confucianism and
ancestor worship, signifying their membership in ethnic Chinese
culture. Lets have a brief overview of different organized
religions followed in China.
Taoism
Taoism was introduced in the 6th century BC in China and
centres on all existing things and spreads a basic understanding of
the true nature of the universe. Around 30% of the total population
in China follows Taoism, which is now being revived to be recognised
as one of the foundations of Chinese culture.
Buddhism
From South Asia to Central Asia and then to China in the 1st
century, Buddhism is richly followed in many integral parts of the
world, and is quite famous in China, while also being supported by
emperors in different dynasties.
Islam
Islam was brought in 651 in China post Prophet Muhammads death.
China has 20 million Muslims, 35000 Islamic places of worship and
over 45000 imams.
Christianity
Christianity is believed to have entered China along with Buddhism
in the 1st century came into existence. As per the recent
survey conducted in Oct 2007, there are 3-4% Christians living in
China.
Hinduism
China has small communities of people who follow Hinduism. The
Government also invited BAPS, a Hindu missionary organisation to
build a Hindu temple in China in October 2007.
Judaism
Judaism was brought into China by small groups of Jews settled over
there, somewhere between 7th and 10 century. The city of
Shanghai has maximum number of Jewish refugees.
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