Religion Flashcards
Attacks on Religion
Religious belief seen as feudal superstition + outdated views.
Opiate used by bourgeois elite to pacify workers + peasants, preventing revolution.
Chritianity = Western imposition used to brainwash Chinese into subservience.
Influence of mullahs in Xinjiang & Buddhist priests in Tibet viewed as political challenge to Communist governments.
Buddhism
Tibet Buddhism = Lamaism.
Underpinned Tibetan’s independence and national identity, couldn’t allow this.
1950s, reunification campaigns, Buddhist monasteries destroyed (6k = 1966) & monks to Laogai system.
GLF, temples confiscated, given to communes
Monks starved or forced to abandon their principles and join the PLA.
End of Cultural Revolution, few temples/shrines remained.
1/4 population in Tibet killed.
Not entirely successful in changing long-held beliefs of the people.
Confucianism
Confucius = Chinese philosopher.
Outlook on life not religious beliefs.
Promoted family/kinship value & ancestor worship.
Shaped behavior of millions of Chinese for 2.5k yrs.
Cultural Revolution: Red Guard destroyed memorials to Confucius in his home town (Qufu).
Anti-Confucius campaign, Confucianism = backwards, not committed to Communist ideology.
Denounced opponents (Lin Biao + Zhou Enlai) compared to Confucius, used by Gang of Four (1973).
1973, Gang of Four launched campaign comparing
Confucianism never disappeared from Chinese society.
New Year Festival & Ancestor Worship
Condemned, represented “Old China”.
Loyalty to Party was all that mattered.
Tradition of giving children hongbao (red envelopes of money) viewed as bourgeois.
Qingming festival replaced with National Memorial Day.
Paying respects to elders –> fallen Communist heroes who died in Civil War.
Not entirely successful, spontaneous out pour of public respect to Zhou Enlai in Tiananmen Square when he died example of ancestry worship.
Islam
Muslims targeted, rival belief system.
Resented power of mullahs and influence over society.
10/1949, Re-unification campaign, PLA invaded Xinjiang.
Mosques schools closed, teaching of Marxism > Qur’an.
Land taken from mosques and redistributed, resisitance sent to Laogai.
PLA helped build roads into Xinjiang to speed up ethnic dilution via inward migration.
Cultural Revolution, mosques —> barracks/stables.
Religious leaders tortured or given humiliating jobs (cleaned sewers).
Muslims provinces targeted as they bordered USSR. Worried Soviets would encourage separatist movements & take rich oil/gas reserves.
Islamic communities resisted Communist control through military force, government became more respectful of Islamic culture.
Christianity
Influence in China through through Protestant & Catholic missionaries.
1949 fear of arrest + accusations of espionage spread driving them out but Pope insisted they stayed.
“Patriotic Churches” allowed to operate but lost all independence – state appointed clergy & dictate doctrine.
Protestants + Catholics seriously weakened by communist persecution.
Cultural Revolution, religion seen as one of Four Olds. Wave of clergy arrests + ban of public worship = renewed international
