4.4 Religion

Question 1

What did Confucianism say?

Answer 1

• Men superior to women
• Respect ancestor (ancestor worship)
• Specific gender roles

Question 2

What did article five of the PRC’s common programme promise?

Answer 2

Freedom of religious beliefs. It was later-reaffirmed in Article 88 in the 1954 constitution

Question 3

What was religion like in 1949?

Answer 3

• Important parts of people’s lives
• Ceremonies how to honour Confucius

Question 4

How influential was Islam in Xinjiang?

Answer 4

• The defining characteristics of society and culture
• Controlled schools

Question 5

What was the communist attitudes towards religion?

Answer 5

• Religion is a feudal superstition, rivals to communist rule.
• Confucianism upheld the old imperial system.
• Christianity was Western thought and a myth.

Question 6

Why was Buddhism targeted?

Answer 6

• The contemplative nature of Buddhism made its adherents more difficult to mobilise in mass activity.
• Its pacifist outlook clashed with the priorities of the leadership.
• Tibet - where most of China’s Buddhist lived - potential buffer zone, that the communist could not afford to not have control over

Question 7

What actions did the CCP against Buddhism?

Answer 7

• Lamaism (Tibet form of Buddhism) practice banned in public
• PLA sent to Tibet to suppress demonstrations, arrest protestors and execute leaders
• Monasteries turned into army barracks and came under the control of the Chinese Buddhist Association

Question 8

How successful was the CCP in destroying Buddhism?

Answer 8

Successful as Tibet was preserved as a security buffer zone and they deliberately extended the famine to Tibet.

Limitations = continued need for periodic clampdowns, Buddhism still China’s most practised religion.

Question 9

What actions did the CCP take against Islam?

Answer 9

• Mosques were closed and vandalised
• Muslim leaders were subjected to struggle sessions

Question 10

Why was Islam targeted?

Answer 10

Islamic values were incompatible with Marxism

Question 11

How successful was the CCP in destroying Christianity?

Answer 11

Successful as Protestant and Catholic Churches weakened

Limitations - Christianity existed at a reduced capacity

Question 12

What actions did the CCP take against Christianity?

Answer 12

• Arrest for espionage drove most Protestant missionaries out of the country.
• Propaganda attacked the behaviour of the church.
• Instead of completely eradicating Christianity, patriotic churches were allowed to continue to function but lost all independence.

Question 13

Why was Christianity targeted?

Answer 13

Christian values were incompatible with Marxism

Question 14

How successful was the CCP in destroying Confucianism?

Answer 14

• Successful as its core value was widely criticised since 1911
• Limitations = Confucius values surrounding the family was too engrained to be completely eradicated

Question 15

What actions did the CCP in destroying Confucianism?

Answer 15

• Communist propaganda denounced Confucian attitudes
• Monuments in Confucian homes was ransacked
• “Confucius and Co” used to label undesirable elements of Chinese culture - Jiang Qing portrayed Lin Biao as a version of Confucius

Question 16

Why was Confucianism targeted?

Answer 16

• It was blamed for Chinas weakness
• It upheld traditional authority
• Clashed with communist values

Question 17

Why was Buddhism attacked?

Answer 17

Buddhism had a significant influence on the development of culture - its followers were more difficult to mobilise

Question 18

How was Buddhism attacked?

Answer 18

• The Tibetan form of Buddhism was banned from being practiced in public
• Priests and nuns were beaten

Question 19

Why was Christianity attacked?

Answer 19

• Extremely incompatible with Marxism

Question 20

What did Mao say about Christianity?

Answer 20

• Mao declared religion as poison
• compared missionaries to Nazis

Question 21

How was Christianity attacked?

Answer 21

-Many church buildings were closed down and their property confiscated
- clergy were attacked

Question 22

How effective were the attacks against Christianity?

Answer 22

Both Protestant and Catholic Churches were seriously weakened by communist persecution and continued to exist only in a reduced capacity

Question 23

How effective were the attacks against Buddhism?

Answer 23

Not really effective - Buddhism remains the most widely practiced religion today

Question 24

Why was Islam attacked?

Answer 24

Islam offered a set of values that ran counter to the atheistic communist state

Question 25

How was Islam attacked?

Answer 25

• Many mosques were closed and vandalised
• Muslim leaders were humiliated in struggle sessions

Question 26

How effective was the attack on Islam?

Answer 26

There was a modest revival of Islam since 1976. The Uighur Muslims continue to suffer restrictions and prosecution

Question 27

Why was ancestor worship attacked?

Answer 27

It was condemned as a superstition that was no longer acceptable in new China

Question 28

How was ancestor worship attacked?

Answer 28

• CCP condemned the practice
• communes meant the repression was easier to enforce

Question 29

How effective was the attack on ancestor worship?

Answer 29

The practice was never eradicated, because it was so deeply entrenched. Some practices continued to be observed

Question 30

Why was Confucianism attacked?

Answer 30

The Confucian stress of upholding traditional authority and family closed with communist values

Question 31

How was Confucianism attacked?

Answer 31

• Communist propaganda denounced Confucian attitudes
• The Red guards went to his home town to vandalise

Question 32

How effective was the attack on Confucianism?

Answer 32

• In some ways it was effective as the religion was easily attacked due to the already critical attitudes
• the values of Confucianism were too deeply ingrained to be completely eradicated