Confucian Group Campaigns for Government Recognition as a Religion

A Confucian group in Hong Kong is campaigning for Confucianism to be recognized on the Mainland as an authorized religion, according to a May 22 article from United Press International. Currently there are more than 1,600 Confucian temples in China, the article reported, but they have registered with the government as academic institutes. Critics of the campaign for recognition argue that placing Confucianism under China's regulatory scheme for religion would increase controls over Confucianism, the article noted.

The question of whether or not to seek recognition of Confucian beliefs as an authorized religion draws attention to the narrow protections the Chinese government provides for freedom of religion and belief. The Chinese Constitution and Regulation on Religious Affairs protect freedom of "religious belief," but provide only limited protections for practices related to such religious belief. In addition, the government recognizes only five belief systems as religions protected under law: Buddhism, Catholicism, Daoism, Islam, and Protestantism. In recognizing these five religions, the PRC government imposed a formal structure over a diverse set of traditions and practices within each belief system and institutionalized them to meet Party and government goals. The government has further consolidated control over religion by imposing registration requirements on religious communities belonging to these five religions. At the same time, while recognized groups are subject to government control, they also receive some protection for their activities that are denied to individuals and groups affiliated with other religions and belief systems.

China's policies contravene international human rights standards, including those in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). (China is a signatory to the ICCPR.) Article 18 of both the UDHR and ICCPR guarantee the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion. The official General Comment 22 to Article 18 of the ICCPR (available via the University of Minnesota Human Rights Library) states, "The right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion (which includes the freedom to hold beliefs) in Article 18.1 is far-reaching and profound; it encompasses freedom of thought on all matters, personal conviction, and the commitment to religion or belief, whether manifested individually or in community with others." The General Comment also notes, "The terms 'belief' and 'religion' are to be broadly construed. Article 18 is not limited in its application to traditional religions or to religions and beliefs with institutional characteristics or practices analogous to those of traditional religions." In contravention to international human rights standards, the Chinese government does not provide protection for individuals and communities who adhere to religions, spiritual belief systems, or other practices that are outside the five recognized religions. Its system of registration also denies protection to Buddhist, Catholic, Daoist, Muslim, and Protestant communities who choose not to register or whose application to register has been denied.

For more information on religion in China, see related analyses on Chinese religious regulations, methods of penalizing religious adherents, and Section III(d), Freedom of Religion, in the CECC 2005 Annual Report.