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China has long been a cradle and host to a variety of the most enduring religio-philosophical traditions of the world. Confucianism and Taoism, plus Buddhism, constitute the "three teachings", philosophical frameworks which historically have had a significant role in shaping Chinese culture.〔Yao, 2011. (p. 11 )〕〔Miller, 2006. (p. 57 )〕 Elements of these three belief systems are incorporated into folk or popular religions.〔Xie, 2006. (p. 73 )〕 Chinese religions are family-oriented and do not demand exclusive adherence, allowing the practice or belief of several at the same time. Some scholars prefer not to use the term "religion" in reference to belief systems in China, and suggest "cultural practices", "thought systems" or "philosophies" as more appropriate terms.〔Rodney L. Taylor. ''Proposition and Praxis: The Dilemma of Neo-Confucian Syncretism''. On: ''Philosophy East and West'', Vol. 32, No. 2, April 1982. p. 187〕 The emperors of China claimed the Mandate of Heaven and participated in Chinese religious practices. Since 1949, China has been governed by the Communist Party of China, which, in theory, is an atheist institution and prohibits party members from belonging to a religion. During Mao Zedong's rule, religious movements were oppressed. Under more recent leaders, religious organisations have been given more autonomy. At the same time, China is considered a nation with a long history of humanist and secularist, this-worldly thought since the time of Confucius,〔Mark Juergensmeyer. ''Religion in Global Civil Society''. Oxford University Press, 2005. p. 70, quote: «() humanist philosophies such as Confucianism, which do not share a belief in divine law and do not exalt faithfulness to a higher law as a manifestation of divine will ()».〕 who stressed ''shisu'' (, "being in the world"), and Hu Shih stated in the 1920s that "China is a country without religion and the Chinese are a people who are not bound by religious superstitions".〔Yong Chen, 2012. p. 127〕 Presently, the Party formally and institutionally recognises five religions in China: Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Protestantism, and Catholicism (though despite historic links, the Party enforces a separation of the Chinese Catholic Church from the Roman Catholic Church).〔Rowan Callick. ''Party Time: Who Runs China and How''. Black Inc, 2013. p. 112〕 In recent years there have been projects of giving a more institutional recognition to Confucianism and the Chinese folk religion.〔Wang Mingming. ''(A Drama of the Concepts of Religion: Reflecting on Some of the Issues of "Faith" in Contemporary China )''. ARI Working Paper N. 155. Asia Research Institute, 2011.〕 Demographically, the largest group of religious traditions is popular religion, or folk religion, which overlaps with Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism but includes further elements. These traditions include respect for the forces of nature, gods of human groups, veneration of ancestors and figures from Chinese mythology.〔Steven F. Teiser. ''(What is Popular Religion? )''. Part of: ''Living in the Chinese Cosmos'', Asia for Educators, Columbia University. Extracts from: Stephen F. Teiser. ''The Spirits of Chinese Religion''. In: ''Religions of China in Practice''. Princeton University Press, 1996.〕 Among widespread cults even officially promoted there are those of Mazu (goddess of the seas),〔China Zentrum: ''(Religions & Christianity in Today's China )''. Vol. IV, 2014, No. 1. ISSN 2192-9289. pp. 22-23〕 Huangdi (divine patriarch of all the Chinese, "Volksgeist" of the Chinese nation),〔Sautman, 1997. pp. 80-81〕 Guandi (god of war and business), Caishen (god of prosperity and richness), Pangu and many others. China has many of the world's tallest statues, including the tallest of all. Most of them represent buddhas and deities and were built in the 2000s. The world's tallest statue is the Spring Temple Buddha, located in Henan. Recently built in the country are also the world's tallest pagoda in Tianning Temple, and the world's tallest stupa in Famen Temple. Chinese Buddhism has developed since the 1st century, and retains its utmost influence in modern China. Scholars have noted that in China there is no clear boundary between religions, especially Buddhism, Taoism and local popular folk religious practice.〔Yao, 2011. pp. 9-10〕 According to the most recent demographic analyses, an average 30—80% of the population in China, that is hundreds of millions of people, practice some kinds of Chinese folk religions and Taoism, 10—16% are Buddhists, 2—4% are Christians, and 1—2% are Muslims. In addition to Han people's local religious practices, there are also ethnic minority groups who maintain religions that can be found nowhere else. Sects of indigenous origin constitute 2—3% of the population, while Confucianism as a religious self-designation is popular among intellectuals. Significant faiths specifically connected to certain ethnic groups include Tibetan Buddhism and the Islamic religion of the Hui and Uyghur peoples. Christianity in China was introduced two times between the 7th and the 15th centuries, but failed to take root.〔Daniel H. Bays. ''Christianity in China: From the Eighteenth Century to the Present''. Chapter One: ''The Nestorian Age and the Mongol Mission, 635-1368''. Stanford University Press, 1999. ISBN 0804736510〕 It was reintroduced in the 16th century by Jesuit missionaries. Protestant missions and later Catholic missionaries expanded the presence of Christianity, which influenced the Taiping Rebellion of the mid 19th century. Under Communism, foreign missionaries were expelled, most churches closed and their schools, hospitals and orphanages seized.〔Geoffrey Blainey. ''A Short History of Christianity''. Viking, 2011. p. 508〕 During the Cultural Revolution, many priests were imprisoned.〔Geoffrey Blainey. ''A Short History of Christianity''. Viking, 2011. p. 531〕 After the late 1970s, religious freedoms for Christians improved.〔Geoffrey Blainey. ''A Short History of Christianity''. Viking, 2011. p. 532〕 ==Ancient and prehistoric== Prior to the formation of the Chinese civilisation and the spread of world religions in the region generally known today as East Asia (which includes the territorial boundaries of modern-day China), local tribes were united by animistic, shamanic and totemic worldviews, and mediatory individuals such as shamans were the way in which prayers, sacrifices or offerings were communicated to the spiritual world. The ancient spiritual and shamanic heritage is preserved to this day in the forms of Chinese folk religions, including Taoism.〔Wang, 2004. pp. 60-61〕〔Fenggang Yang. ''Social Scientific Studies of Religion in China: Methodologies, Theories, and Findings ''. BRILL, 2011. ISBN 9004182462. p. 112〕 Ancient shamanism exhibits features that are especially connected to the ancient Neolithic cultures such as the Hongshan culture.〔Sarah M. Nelson, Rachel A. Matson, Rachel M. Roberts, Chris Rock, Robert E. Stencel. ''Archaeoastronomical Evidence for Wuism at the Hongshan Site of Niuheliang''. 2006.〕 The Flemish philosopher Ulrich Libbrecht traces the origins of some features of Taoism to what he calls "Wuism", or Chinese shamanism.〔Libbrecht, 2007. p. 43.〕 Libbrecht distinguishes two layers in the development of the Chinese religion, traditions derived respectively from the Shang and subsequent Zhou dynasties. The religion of the Shang era developed around ancestral worship.The main gods from this period are not forces of nature in the Indo-European way, but deified virtuous men. The ancestors of the emperors were called ''di'' (帝), "deities", and the greatest of them was called ''Shangdi'' (上帝, "Primordial Deity"), who is identified with the dragon, symbol of the universal power (qi) in its ''yang'' (generative) aspect.〔 The Zhou dynasty, succeeding the Shang, was more rooted in an agricultural worldview. With them, gods of nature became dominant. The utmost power in this period was named ''Tian'' (天, the "Great Oneness", "Heaven"). With ''Di'' (地, "earth") he forms the whole cosmos in a complementary duality.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Religion in China」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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