FREEDOM TO BELIEVE OR TO NOT BELIEVE......... In talking with other expats, I have learned that many have experienced what I have -- that people we share our China experiences with tend to fall into one of two camps: They will either a) be interested in getting firsthand information, and will enjoy learning the real story about life here -or- they will b) be fully convinced we have gone communist, drank the Kool-aid, become un-American or whatever else they want to imagine because we dont reinforce whatever negative stereotypes they believe are true about the most populous country in the world. Heres a great case in point: Chinas religious freedom. What? You didnt know theres freedom of religion in China? (This is where those in the B category usually lose their minds.) China has what is, to me, a very refreshing attitude towards religion. Their attitude is, basically, You are free to have and practice whatever faith &/or religion you want. You are not, however, free to make other people miserable with it. I had several Christian coworkers (Chinese) in Shanghai who thought absolutely nothing of reading their Bibles at their desks during lunch. We were in Peoples Park in Shanghai one day when a Chinese woman walked up and handed us a religious pamphlet and said Jesus loves you. I was in a print shop one day when a Chinese man came in to have bilingual flyers made to advertise a Christian marriage seminar at his church. My first day on the job here in Beijing, within three minutes of meeting me, one of my Chinese coworkers wearing a gold cross necklace asked me if I am a Christian and invited me to her church. Christianity is alive and well in China, and not being hidden at all. The government is officially atheist, but not in the way Americans think of atheism. The government is atheistic in that it does not endorse any one religion and does not discriminate between religions. And it requires that the practitioners of any religion show respect and courtesy to other religions and to those who do not share in their beliefs. It truly honors the separation of church and state. The link below is to an article that was in China Daily. It gives a very clear explanation of the Chinese attitude towards religion. Warning: This is a very academic approach. It is not written from a perspective of faith. It is written from a perspective of academic understanding and cultural respect. But it is very balanced and explains Chinas cultural attitude towards religion quite well. (There are two pages. At the bottom of the first page you will see the place to click for the next page. The article is a little long, but is very well written and is worth the read.) (This article was written in response to a cult killing. A woman refused to join a cult, and she was beaten to death in public as a result. It was so violent and happened so fast that the people around were too afraid to try to help and were also threatened with the same if they tried to interfere. The guilty parties have been definitively identified and are awaiting punishment.)
Posted on: Fri, 27 Jun 2014 05:41:11 +0000
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