Save

The “Sinicization” of Religion: Culture as Political Rhetoric

宗教的“中国化”:文化其表,政治其里

In: Review of Religion and Chinese Society
Authors:
Zhe Ji Institut Français de Recherche sur l’Asie de l’Est (IFRAE) Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales (Inalco) Centre d’études interdisciplinaires sur le bouddhisme (CEIB) Paris France

Search for other papers by Zhe Ji in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8011-9033
and
Fang Xuan School of Philosophy, Renmin University of China Beijing China

Search for other papers by Fang Xuan in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
https://orcid.org/0009-0005-8775-6330
Download Citation Get Permissions

Access options

Get access to the full article by using one of the access options below.

Institutional Login

Log in with Open Athens, Shibboleth, or your institutional credentials

Login via Institution

Purchase

Buy instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):

$40.00

Abstract

The “Sinicization of religion” policy launched in 2015 marked a turn in the Communist Party’s approach to religious governance, opening a new era of strict control over religion in post-reform China. This article first analyzes this policy in the context of the evolution of the CCP’s attitudes to religion over the past century. It then explores the elaboration process and its implications for related official discourse and follows with an examination of the promotion and implementation of this policy. The authors argue that the new conceptual design of “Sinicization” was aimed initially at exogenous religions but later became a general policy applied to all religions, as the central power of the Party realized its utility for subtly achieving absolute authority. Such a “Sinicization” is a projection of Xi Jinping’s “Chinese Dream” in the field of religious affairs, a dream of the Party’s permanent domination under the mantle of nationalism.

摘要

2015年推出的“宗教中国化”政策标志着中国共产党在宗教治理方面的一个转折, 开启了改革开放后中国严格控制宗教的新时代。本文首先回顾了百年来中共对宗教的态度的演变,然后分析了该政策的制定过程及其相关的官方话语,继而对该政策的推广和实施进行了简要的考察。作者认为,“中国化”概念的提出最早是针对外源宗教的,但后来成为适用于所有宗教的政策,当局也巧妙地运用该政策强化了中央的权威。这种“中国化”是习近平的“中国梦”在宗教事务领域的投射,反映的是在民族主义外衣下施行永久统治的中共之梦。

Content Metrics

All Time Past 365 days Past 30 Days
Abstract Views 866 867 62
Full Text Views 97 97 8
PDF Views & Downloads 273 273 16