Chinese Laws on Religious Activities

The People's Republic of China is an officially atheist state, which while having freedom of religion as a principle nominally enshrined with the laws and constitution of the country, nevertheless possesses a number of laws that restrict religious activities within China.

This article details the various pieces of legislation governing religious activities in China. For a more detailed look at the topic of freedom of religion in China, see article: Religious freedom in China.

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Article 36 of the Chinese constitution explicitly deals with religious affairs. It states:

"The People's Republic of China has freedom of faith and religion

No state organization, social group or individual may force a citizen to accept or not to accept a religious faith, nor can they discriminate against either religious or non-religious citizens.

The state protects normal religious activities. No one may use religion to make an attack on the order of society, harm the physical health of citizens, or impede the activities of the state's education system.

Religious groups and religious affairs shall not be subject to the power of foreign domination."

Banning discrimination against religious citizens in China is usually not interpreted to mean that positions in the government or military are equally open to believers in religions. Communist party membership is often a prerequisite for many government or military positions, and the communist party will frequently not allow religious believers to be members on account of their religious beliefs.

'Normal religious activities' is interpreted to mean religious activities carried out by religious bodies that have official government approval. Religions that are not legally permitted to exist in China, like the Falun Gong or Jehovah's witnesses are not protected by the constitution. Religious groups that are not registered by the government, like Catholics who are part of an underground church or protestant house churches, are not protected by the constitution. Furthermore, religious activities by approved groups that do not conform to the many regulations governing religion in China are also not protected by the constitution.

'impede the activities of the state's education system' is usually interpreted to mean that educational institutions in China are not permitted to teach religion to students. What this means is that religion can be taught as a subject, but actual religious teaching (ie. teaching that is intended to help a person to follow a particular religious faith) is considered to be a form of 'impeding the activities of the state's education system' and as such, it is banned by the constitution.

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