Worship

Since today (Sunday, 26 October) dawned clear and crisp and cool, I decided to make a photo safari to several of Dalian's places of worship. American readers might be surprised to learn that there even are such places, but it is worth knowing that freedom of religion is explicitly enshrined in the constitution of the People's Republic of China, although the enormous loopholes are pretty obvious: "No state organ, public organization or individual may compel citizens to believe in, or not to believe in, any religion; nor may they discriminate against citizens who believe in, or do not believe in, any religion. The state protects normal religious activities. No one may make use of religion to engage in activities that disrupt public order, impair the health of citizens or interfere with the educational system of the state. Religious bodies and religious affairs are not subject to any foreign domination" (Article 36).

The PRC recognizes five main religions: Buddhists, Taoists, Muslims, Catholics, and Protestants. There are also small communities of Hindus and indigenous folk religions, as well as religious movements that are not officially sanctioned. Estimates by Chinese scholars say that about 300 million people (31%) consider themeselves to be "religious" in some sense. A recent article in China Daily notes, for example, that official records show that there are about 16 million Protestants in China. (That sounds like a lot, but it's less than 1.5% of the population.) The number of Protestant seminaries has increased from 1 to 18 in the past ten years. There are more than 10,000 officially recognized Protestant churches. China also has more than 20 million Muslims worshipping in more than 40,000 mosques.

Our earlier blog entries had pictures of the Buddhist temple here in Dalian as well as various temples, monasteries, and mosques in Xi'an and Tibet. Today, I walked to a Roman Catholic Church, a Lutheran Church, an Anglican Church, a former Russian Orthodox Church, and a mosque. I know of a few more places of worship in various office buildings and hotels, and there is said to be a Hindu Shrine somewhere near the Buddhist Temple in Zhongshan Park. I have also heard that there is a new Protestant mega-church with about 4000 members near the airport, too far for me to walk today.
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