1. Religion In China

2. Religion before Mao  Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Christianity, they're the most prominent religions in China.  (Confucianism is a collection of stories, teachings and morals from Confucius put together to from religion.)  Chinese philosophy for 2500 years had been dominated by confusions.  Religion was deeply rooted in China.  They believed it was their duty to look after the spirits of their ancestors and the dead.

3.  Religion did not change much before Communism.  Christianity was brought over from European missionaries.  Just before Mao Christianity had become the biggest religion in China.  Chiang Kai-shek was a Christian.

4.  Buddhism had been in China for 1000 years before Mao.  Most of the Buddhists in China were in Tibet.  The Dalai Lama was considered the head of Buddhism in Tibet.  Buddhism was big in China

6. Mao’s public view on Religion  Mao thought Christianity was incompatible with Marxism.  He didn’t like the idea of other religions having a leader that wasn’t him.  “Religion is Poison”-Mao to the Dalai Lama  "Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people". –Karl Marx

7.  Mao condemned ancestor worship as superstition, and that it was no longer acceptable in China.  After Mao his successors had to debate on how far Confucianism was compatible with Marxism.

8. Mao’s private view on Religion  “We were standing on the spot where the Buddhist shrine Mao had referred to so often”  “The destruction of the shrine had saddened him”  “ “It should have been left alone,” he said. “The shrine could lift people’s spirits, give them hope. People need this kind of encouragement.” -The Private Life of Chairman Mao (In textbook pg 260 source 15)

9. Initial Religious policy  At first a ‘careful and conciliatory’ approach was used on the Major religions.  Mao was worried that because they had so many followers he could face dangerous opposition  He tried to win over and control the leaders (had hopes they would work with regime)  e.g. 4 Protestants, 2 Buddhists and one Muslim were invited to the First National Political Consultative Conference as representatives of their faiths

10. Changes under Mao  Confucianism:  Communists marked Confucian ethical code as ‘old culture’  All public ceremonies ended in 1949  At first temples and shrines were kept as museum pieces  Some philosophers even argued that it was compatible with communist ideology e.g. freedom of education.

11.  Ancestor worship:  In order to fulfil his idea of a ‘new China’ Mao condemned Chinese New Year as a ‘superstitious article’  ‘we and chairman Mao are of one heart’  Allowed a cult of Mao to develop  Religious shrines in houses replaced With pictures of Mao

12.  Christianity: o Mao believed the Church was dangerous as it was one of the main representatives of Western imperial ideas o In 1954 the religious affairs department began to deport foreign missionaries o Protestant leaders were forced to create ‘Patriotic Churches’ o They were told to adopt a strategy of ‘self ruling, supporting and propagating’ o In reality this allowed all foreign ties to be cut off leading to complete obedience of the protestant community to Communism

13.  Islam: o Mosques were seized and converted into arenas for struggle sessions o However, there was opposition. In the battle of Gansu over 1000 people were killed and armed rebellions were common o This led Mao to grant Xinjiang the status of autonomous state in Oct 1955 o However, Mao realised that Muslim leaders represented a challenge to his rule as they had links with Muslim communities in the USSR and Pakistan o Therefore, they were sent for ‘thought reform ’

14. Impacts of Changes Made  Mao could never truly destroy all the affects of religion on China.  Confucianism remained strong in China, exemplified by the fact that at Zhou’s funeral people practised a sort of ancestral worship.  Lin Shaoqi preached Confucius ideals.  The temples and churches were destroyed but the long-held belief in most people remained strong.  Protestant church pressured into making the “Patriotic Church Movement” which made the church support the regime.  The youth who were born inside the communist years were easily able the release their religious ties as they were not that connected to it.

15. Conclusion  Confucian belief, was too deeply entrenched in China to be removed in such a small period of time.  Mao personally like some parts of Confucianism but all of it had to go.  Catholics put the pope above their current leader, this went against Marxist ideals.  Mao wanted an atheist China.  The reforms Mao made seriously damaged the impact of religion in China.  Its still illegal for 3 or more religious people to come together for religious activities.

16.  Mao needed to destroy old culture, including religion, so that he could create his own.  However he could not achieve this fully as religion was strongly held in the people and they were not too willing to let it go.  The youth however were willing to for the regime as they were told to not be religious their whole lives.