Regulating Religions in China

October 8, 2010

In the U.S., Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Conner once said, “Those who would renegotiate the boundaries between church and state must therefore answer difficult questions: why would we trade a system that has served us so well for one that has served others so poorly?” Source: Theocracy Watch

The answer to Justice O’Conner’s question is the reason why China’s government keeps such a close watch on religions and decides which ones may practice there.

In the past, Roman Catholic Popes told the kings of Europe what to do, which led to the persecution and eradication of the Cathars.

There are more examples of religious corruption such as the Inquisition, the Crusades to the Middle East, China’s Taiping Rebellion, and the wars between Catholics and Protestants in Europe.

What I have listed in the previous paragraph is a brief example. The list is long. For thousands of years, religions have waged wars on each other and on those who do not join.

Then consider how many major religions there are. Why does it have to be so complicated? After all, there is only one God.

As it is, “China is a country with a great diversity of religious beliefs. The main religions are Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism and Protestantism… According to incomplete statistics, there are over 100 million followers of various religious faiths, more than 85,000 sites for religious activities, some 300,000 clergy and over 3,000 religious organizations throughout China. In addition, there are 74 religious schools and colleges run by religious organizations for training clerical personnel.” Source: Chinese Culture

If you visit the previous link, you will discover that China does allow people to worship God and join religions.

However, China reserves the right to decide which religions and cults may be destructive and keeps these groups out of China such as the Falun Gong cult.

Learn about The Kaifeng Jews

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. 

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Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

Misconceptions of China – The Chinese Government

August 20, 2010

This three-part series comes from a young Chinese man speaking on YouTube about Western misconceptions of China.

Larry says that one of the greatest misconceptions about China’s government is that people outside China believe it is completely Communist—a machine that gets rid of what it doesn’t like.  Even Larry’s Chinese-American friends feel this way.  That opinion is wrong.

Larry says that China does censor a few things like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. The reason for that are because of Falun Gong, and Tibetan or Muslim (in Xingjian province) separatists.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xphP1awF1lY

Source: ShiWoLarry

Larry says many Westerners believe if you say bad things about the Chinese government, you will be arrested. The only instance where that might be true is if you used a loud speaker in the center of Tiananmen Square.  

Larry then talks about the few human rights violations Westerners hear so much about. The central government reacts the way it does toward the Falun Gong, Tibetan Separatists and the Muslims in Xingjian province because the Communists came to power through rebellion and want to avoid the same thing happening to them.  

After the Qing Dynasty collapsed in 1911, China went through chaos and anarchy for decades—millions suffered and died.  Any rebellion would mean a return to those horrible times and regardless of any negativity one hears or reads about China, there is a lot of good things going on that we don’t hear about in the West.

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. 

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1 Comment | China, Chinese Culture, Chinese history, Communism, cults, cultural differences, Islam, media, politics, Tibet | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

The Question of Religion (2/2)

August 13, 2010

Think of the violence and wars that religions have caused—the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, genocide against the Cathars (see video), the wars between Catholics and Protestants, and the persecution of Jews by both Muslims and Christians.

Then there are Islamic fundamentalists and the suffering and death caused by their religious beliefs.

Although most people in China are not religious, religions have caused uprising and wars in China too.

The Ming Dynasty (1368-1643) came about due to a rebellion against the Mongol Yuan Dynasty led by a religious sect known as the “Red Turbans” or “Red Scarves”, which included elements from “White Lotus”, a Buddhist sect from the late Southern Song Dynasty. Source: New World Encyclopedia

During the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) when the Manchu minority ruled China, there were a number of religious uprisings.

There was the White Lotus Rebellion (1796-1804) in the mountain region that separates Sichuan province from Hubei and Shaanxi provinces. The White Lotus was a secret religious society promising salvation to its followers similar to the Falun Gong today.

A Christian convert claiming to be the younger brother of Jesus Christ led the Taiping Rebellion (1850-1864) and more than 20 million died.

The Panthay Rebellion (1856-1873) was a separatist movement led by the Hui people and Chinese Muslims.

There was also the Dungan revolt (1862-1877), led by Muslims in China’s Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia and Xinjiang provinces. Chinese historians and officials believed that Islam played a role in causing that uprising.

Maybe the reason China survived for thousands of years without collapsing as Western civilization did when Rome fell was the absence of a major religious movement in China stirring the peoples’ emotions.

Instead of listening to God from the mouths of Popes, prophets and priests, the Chinese had a blend of Confucianism and Taoism, which the family taught by example.

Return to The Question of Religion – Part 1

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. 

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6 Comments | America, Buddhism, Buddhist, China, Chinese Culture, Chinese history, Christianity, Confucianism, cults, cultural differences, history, Islam, religion, Taoism | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

The Question of Religion (1/2)

August 12, 2010

I read a piece in the August National Geographic about Native Lands in America. The piece mentions the horrible atrocities committed by the European invaders against the natives who had lived on the land for more than ten thousand years.

As I read, I wondered if the reason Chinese civilization survived for thousands of years was because China had no organized religion to stir the emotions of the people and set them against each other in endless religious wars. 

When I brought this up with an old friend of mine who is a born again evangelical Christian, his response was that real Christians didn’t cause religious wars.

I question his right to decide who a real Christian is.  In fact, most Christians believe they will be forgiven since the cornerstone of Christian religion is Christ dying on the cross for their sins so killing all those nonbelievers must have been okay.

There are even influential and wealthy Christians (see above video) who support Israel rebuilding Solomon’s temple for the sole reason that it means the end of life on earth as we know it. However, those Christians believe they would be with God as His chosen few.

I wonder if early Christians may have been the reason the Roman Empire eventually collapsed.

See Cults and Christian Cannon Balls

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. 

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Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

How US Fanatics Lose Jobs to China

June 27, 2010

I read The dragon’s DNA in The Economist last night before sleep, and after waking up, I read a piece in the May Smithsonian about how one born-again man used a minority Christian fundamentalist movement to bring about Prohibition.  If the nation’s voters had been given a choice at the polls, Prohibition would have failed.

Because I read the two pieces close together, I made a connection. The Economist piece is  about a company in China, BGI (Beijing Genomics Institute) and is about China soon dominating DNA research. BGI is about to have more DNA-sequencing capacity than the United States possibly making China the leader in this field.

Meanwhile, in the US, research in genetics is hampered by minority groups similar to the one the Smithsonian talks about in The Man Who Turned Off The Taps. Wayne B. Wheeler, who’s responsible for bringing about prohibition touched every American life, and he did this by using political blackmail—something organized, born-again Christians and the Tea Bag people are doing today.

It is obvious that political minority dictatorships in the US send jobs to China. Instead of China, the US could be the leader in genetic research. Allowing minorities to use political blackmail to achieve political and religious agendas is wrong.  No wonder the Chinese have kicked religions out of China every few centuries and killed those who didn’t leave fast enough.

See Jobless in America and Angry at China

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Lloyd Lofthouse,
Award winning author of Hart’s concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. 

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Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

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