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Reflections on the Relationship Between Religion and Culture

Science & Atheism

Reflections on the Question of the "Relationship between Religion and Culture"

In recent years, discussions surrounding the "relationship between religion and culture" have drawn significant attention and debate. What is the connotation of religious culture? How should we understand the relationship between religion and culture? How should the governing party treat and handle this relationship? Regarding this important theoretical issue involving religious work, it is necessary to conduct more in-depth and systematic foundational research from the perspective of the Marxist view of religion.

This article attempts to provide a preliminary organization and reflection on this issue from the perspective of combining theory and practice:

I. Several Perspectives on the Relationship between Religion and Culture

(1) Perspectives of the Older Generation: In the 1980s, Elder Zhao Puchu [1] proposed on many occasions that "religion is culture." First, this broke away from the view of a previous period that saw religion solely as a negative factor; second, as a religious leader, he raised the question of how to view religion from the perspective of religious faith.

Elder Zhao repeatedly elucidated that religion is culture, often citing three examples [2]:

The first example: While visiting a temple in Yan'an, Chairman Mao said to his guard Li Yinqiao: "That is culture, understand? Those are places of historic interest and scenic beauty; they are historical and cultural heritage." [3]

The second example: In a letter to Elder Zhao, Qian Xuesen [4] wrote regarding the phenomenon of some local cadres violating religious policies: "I think the fundamental issue is how to correctly understand religion during the primary stage of socialism in our country. I remember telling you before that religion is culture. This meaning is also affirmed in the opening article 'Religion' by Luo Zhufeng and Huang Xinchuan in the Great Chinese Encyclopedia: Volume on Religion, which states: 'In the field of human cultural and intellectual activity, religion has always been an important constituent part.'" In the letter, Qian Xuesen emphasized: "The content of the construction of socialist spiritual civilization should include religion."

"In the field of human cultural and intellectual activity, religion has always been an important constituent part. It has close relations with science and other social ideologies such as philosophy, literature, art, and morality." (Great Chinese Encyclopedia: Volume on Religion, p. 5).

The third example: The historian Mr. Fan Wenlan [5] told Mr. Zhou Jianren at the beginning of the "Cultural Revolution": "I am currently making up for missed lessons by reading Buddhist books. Buddhism’s transmission to China has a history of nearly two thousand years and is closely related to Chinese culture. If one does not understand Buddhism, one does not understand the history of Chinese culture."

(2) Perspectives in Current Chinese Academic Circles: Regarding "religion is culture," there are different views among current domestic scholars:

  1. The View that "Religion is Culture" Many scholars believe that religion possesses cultural functions and should be viewed as culture. Their main arguments are as follows [6]: (1) Analyzing the historical context in which "religion is culture" was proposed. They believe that "another ideological source for promoting the liberation of thought [7] among religious scholars and driving the prosperity of religious scholarship is the understanding that 'religion is culture' and 'the religion of an ethnic group constitutes an important part of its ethnic culture.'" (2) Believing that the proposition "religion is culture" has produced positive effects. "When academic development reaches a certain stage, what is most needed is often nothing other than the innovation of concepts. Treating religious scholarship as politics is one concept, which caused a serious stagnation in religious academic research. Treating religion as a type of culture is another concept, yet it brought about the liberation of thought for religious scholars, the renewal of concepts, and the prosperity of academic research."

"Since religion constitutes the cultural tradition of an ethnic group, we clearly cannot, as in the past, view religious culture as part of the 'Four Olds' [8], simply equating it with reactionary politics and striking it down with a single blow. Scholars must study the relationship between religion and various cultural forms, using religious research to understand ethnic culture as well as the political and cultural relations between various ethnic groups. This understanding has greatly enhanced the value and significance of religious academic research and broadened the fields of religious scholarship and the horizons of religious scholars."

"Looking back at the path taken by Chinese religious academic research over the past hundred years, one might say that no theory or concept has constrained the thinking of religious scholars more than treating religious studies as politics; nor has any theory or concept played as great a liberating role for religious scholars as 'religion is culture.'"

  1. Religion Should Not Be Spoken of Broadly as Culture This group of scholars believes that while religion is certainly culture, they are not inclined to speak of it broadly as such. They believe that Marxism explains religion starting from social roots and realistic foundations. "What are the characteristics of Marxist atheism? First, proceeding from the historical materialist outlook, one must use history to explain religion rather than using religion to explain history. This points out the social basis of the emergence of religion, digging up the roots of theism, while simultaneously drawing a clear line against culturalism—which one-sidedly exaggerates the role of religion and treats religion as pan-cultural (i.e., using 'culture' to explain religion and religion to explain 'culture')." [9]

  2. Religion is a Cultural Phenomenon and Should Be Defined as One Aspect of Religion Some scholars believe: ① Religion is a form of social consciousness, essentially reflecting the illusion of external forces that dominate people's daily lives; ② Religion is also a social phenomenon; ③ Religion is further a cultural phenomenon. [10]

As a cultural phenomenon, in a broad sense, religion refers to being part of the material and spiritual wealth created during the historical development of human society. In a narrow sense, it refers to religion as a social consciousness that, in the sphere of social spiritual life, possesses close relations with philosophy, political thought, legal thought, morality, literature, art, and even science, forming a unique religious cultural phenomenon. In short, religion is a cultural phenomenon and should be defined as one aspect of religion.

Religion is not only a socio-cultural phenomenon but also a historical phenomenon.

  1. Religious Culture is a Part of Chinese National Culture, Not the Whole, and Certainly Not the Dominant Part Some scholars believe: Religious culture is part of the Chinese national culture, but not the whole, and certainly not the dominant part. Every religion is subordinate to state power. In a unified country, there is no distinction between a "state religion" and "heresy." Various religions have coexisted for a long time, promoting the integration and cohesion of the Chinese nation. [11]

In current religious work practice, how to understand and handle the relationship between religion and culture is a question that requires a serious answer. However, up to now, the documents of the Party and the state, as well as the speeches of leaders, have not yet had the opportunity to provide a comprehensive and systematic exposition on this issue.

II. What Kind of Culture is Religion?

So, how exactly should "religion is culture" be understood? What kind of culture is religion? What characteristics does religious culture have that differ from other cultural phenomena?

1. Characteristics of Religious Culture As a socio-cultural phenomenon, religion possesses both commonalities and particularities when compared to other cultural forms created by humans. Some scholars analyze the characteristics of religious culture as: (1) Alienation. Religion was originally created by humans, yet it has been alienated into a supreme sacred object that stands above and controls humans. [12] (2) Exclusive Supremacy, also known as exclusivism. (3) Institutionalization. "[Religion] incorporates the vast number of believers into a sacred organization and system, regulating their beliefs and behaviors, and influencing or even determining their spiritual and social lives." [13] (4) Expansiveness. Any religion has the impulse to proselytize and continuously expand its influence. (5) All-encompassing. Marx said: "The state and this society produce religion, which is an inverted consciousness of the world, because they are an inverted world. Religion is the general theory of this world, its encyclopedic compendium..." This passage from Marx refers to the "all-encompassing compendium" type of socio-cultural role played by religion. Religious culture is endowed with supreme sanctity and all-inclusive universality.

2. The Relationship between Religion and Different Levels and Forms of Culture Religion is a cultural phenomenon that includes three aspects: the material culture, institutional culture, and spiritual culture of religion. The material culture of religion includes temples, monasteries, churches, icons, holy books, holy places, offerings, and all objects and venues required for conducting religious activities. The institutional culture of religion includes organizational structures, hierarchical systems, religious rituals, religious regulations, methods of cultivation, and all forms and methods of constructing religious activities. The spiritual culture of religion includes religious classics, doctrines, theological thought, religious concepts, religious experiences, religious art, and all religious conscious activities.

The relationship between the material, institutional, and spiritual cultures of religion is as follows: Religious spiritual culture is the core content of religious culture, yet it is closely related to and complementary to religious material and institutional culture. Without the former, the latter two would be no different from general social objects and social institutions; without the latter two, religious spiritual culture would be indistinguishable from ideologies such as philosophy, literature, and art. Religious spirit, especially religious consciousness, possesses core significance; it embodies the value orientation of religious believers. [14]

At the level of spiritual culture, religious theology and religious philosophy have continuously engaged in polemics and struggles with natural science and Enlightenment philosophy throughout Chinese and foreign intellectual history, while also continuously penetrating and stimulating each other. This has pursued the development of religious theology, philosophy, and natural science themselves, and enlightened the development of human theoretical thinking and various cultural ideas. [15] It is precisely in this sense that Chairman Mao said: "If one does not criticize theology, one cannot write world history, literary history, or the history of philosophy well."

At the level of popular culture, "the venting of religious feelings manifests as various forms of art." [16] Through this, religion possesses an infectious power and attraction for believers.

Regarding the developmental course of religious culture, some scholars have sketched the following historical trajectory: primitive secular culture → primitive religious culture → coexistence of religious culture and secular culture (with religious culture as dominant) → secular culture occupying the dominant position (with religious culture receding to a secondary position, tending toward secularization while continuing to play a role). [17]

3. The "Duality" of Religious Culture in Its Social Role Under socialist conditions, Chinese religion has undergone important progress and changes. This is mainly manifested in: First, while the roots upon which religion exists have changed significantly, religion will continue to exist for a long time. Second, since the founding of New China, the political outlook of various religions in our country has undergone fundamental changes. Third, contradictions regarding religion in our country primarily belong to the category of contradictions among the people. Fourth, the positive side of religion’s social role is supported and encouraged, while the negative side is constrained and inhibited. Fifth, through the historical process, religion is moving in the correct direction of adapting to socialist society.

Due to the progress and changes of religion under socialist conditions, the social functions and roles of religion will inevitably change accordingly. In a socialist society, within a certain scope and degree, religion can play relatively positive roles in psychological adjustment, spiritual comfort, moral constraint, social integration, cultural identity, cultural carrying, and social interaction.

At the same time, changes in the status of religion in contemporary China do not mean a change in the essence of religion as a supernatural and super-realistic belief. As an illusory reflection of reality, religion can easily shackle people's thinking and remains susceptible to the influence of class struggle existing within a certain scope and complex international factors. Therefore, it also has negative factors and roles, mainly manifested in: (1) Believers' mindsets tend toward being conservative, placing their destiny in the grace of God and illusions of the afterlife rather than relying on their own subjective efforts. (2) A narrow, idealist theological worldview often hinders believers to a certain extent from correctly understanding the world and mastering scientific and cultural knowledge. The wealth of religious masses is consumed in large quantities on the construction and offerings of religious temples, directly affecting the realization of a moderately prosperous life. (3) Once believers fall into fideism, they easily become prejudiced and fanatical, excluding those who differ and shackling themselves. Some traditional religious concepts, when combined with feudal superstitious thinking, lead to religious fanaticism and sectarian fragmentation. Hostile forces outside our borders utilize religion to carry out infiltration activities, harming social stability, ethnic unity, and the unification of the motherland.

Mr. Ren Jiyu [18] pointed out: "The ideological basis of religion is blind faith, not reason or speculation." "The fact that religion continues to exist can be found in scientific explanation, but this absolutely cannot prove that religion is scientific." "Politically, we respect the religious beliefs of followers; however, ideologically, we must also see that religious fideism is disadvantageous to people’s struggle to transform nature and society, hinders the development of science, and has a negative effect on teenagers’ acceptance of a materialistic worldview and their healthy growth." [19] Socialist society has created favorable conditions and an environment for giving play to the positive factors of religion and suppressing its negative factors, ensuring that the positive side of religion's social role receives support and encouragement while the negative side is constrained and inhibited.

The phrasing in the "Decision" of the Sixth Plenary Session of the 16th CPC Central Committee regarding "giving play to the active role of religion in promoting social harmony," and in the report of the 17th CPC National Congress regarding "giving play to the active role of religious figures and believers in promoting economic and social development," belongs to the category of positive guidance. The connotation of these statements should not be understood as meaning that religion possesses only active roles and no negative ones; rather, it means we must leverage its active role while suppressing its negative role.

III. How the CPC, as the Governing Party, Should Understand and Treat the Proposition that "Religion is Culture"

How should the CPC, in its capacity as the governing party, recognize and handle the issue of "religion is culture"?

  1. Respect, understand, encourage, and support the explanations and research put forward by religious circles concerning the idea that "religion is culture." When religious circles propose that "religion is culture" from the perspective of their own faith, it helps them interpret and study the common ground where religious cultural connotations and social functions harmonize and connect with socialist society. This broadens the common foundation for "mutual adaptation" [20] and helps identify entry points for such adaptation. It is conducive to excavating, discovering, and giving play to the endogenous factors and internal driving forces that allow religion to adapt to socialist society.

  2. "Religion is culture" or "religion is a cultural phenomenon" constitutes one of the attributes of religion; it is not the totality of religious attributes, nor is it the essential attribute of religion. One cannot take "religion is culture" as the primary, or even the sole, perspective for recognizing and treating religion.

Discussing religion as culture in general terms fails to explain the essential attributes, value systems, and social effects of religion itself. Specifically, one must further analyze what kind of culture a given religion represents. Different religions, or religions at different stages of development—for example, those with varying degrees of integration with traditional Chinese culture—differ in their cultural connotations and social functions. Merely discussing religion as culture obscures these differences and uses the commonality of "culture" to cover up the individual character and essential attributes of different religions.

We must encourage and guide the academic community, under the guidance of the Marxist view of religion, to carry out rational research on the relationship between religion and culture. They should recognize and master the historical laws of religious evolution, using scientific and rational academic achievements to enhance mutual understanding, comprehension, and respect between believers and non-believers, as well as among followers of different religions. This will provide cultural connotation, academic support, and spiritual impetus for the survival and development of China's various religions within a socialist society.

  1. It is not appropriate for the governing party to speak of religion as culture in vague or general terms. The governing party has its own duties and missions; it must elevate its understanding of this issue to the heights of political responsibility, ideological guidance, social management, and national security.

For the governing party, close attention must be paid to the connection between religion and politics, as well as the "duality" of religion's social role. One must not "try to make others understand while remaining in the dark oneself" [21]. We must prevent certain missionaries from proselytizing in the name of culture, individual scholars from spreading theological thoughts in the name of culture, certain officials from expanding religion in the name of culture, and external anti-China forces from implementing strategic containment in the name of culture.

The profound lessons from the frequent "religious cases" [22] in modern Chinese history, the accumulation and overlapping of religious issues amid prominent social contradictions under conditions of opening up, and the harsh reality of unrest, conflict, and war triggered by the exploitation and use of religion globally all warn us to be extremely cautious, rigorous, and prudent in recognizing and handling this issue. While discussing the commonality of "religion is culture," we must also see the essential attributes of religion itself; while discussing certain active factors of religion, we must also see religion's own negative roles. One cannot mistake aspirations for policy. A "discrepancy of a hair’s breadth" in guiding principles will lead to a "deviation of a thousand miles" in practical life [23].

  1. We must persist in and develop the Marxist view of religion. Currently, there is a tendency in academic circles to regard the Marxist view of religion as merely one of many theories and methods for studying religion, which diminishes its role as the theoretical guide for the CPC in recognizing and handling religious issues.

On the question of the "relationship between religion and culture," we must study, apply, enrich, and develop the basic viewpoints of the Marxist view of religion:

First, persist in the "Three Perspectives" of the Marxist view of religion. These are: the perspective on the essence of religion (the view on the internal connections and nature of religion); the historical perspective of religion (the view on the origin, evolution, and laws of religion); and the value perspective of religion (the view on the social functions, effects, and significance of religion).

Second, persist in the "Three Principles" of the Marxist view of religion. The Marxist historical materialist outlook provides us with a "golden key" to unlock the secrets of the religious world and the kingdom of heaven, offering guiding principles of worldview and methodology for religious research:

  1. One cannot use spiritual factors to explain the essence of religion. One should not explain religion from its own history, nor from other spiritual factors of humanity. Therefore, one cannot use "culture" to explain the essence of religion.
  2. One must explain the development of religion and religious issues through the development of society. The development of religion is determined by the development of society; only by starting from the historical process of how the superstructure develops to adapt to the economic base can the objective laws of religious development be found.
  3. One must reduce the "God-man" religious relationship to a "man-man" social relationship. That is, using the basic principles of historical materialism to analyze and research, one arrives at the conclusion that the "God-man" religious relationship is a reflection of the "man-man" social relationship in a conceptual form.

Third, persist in the "Three Laws" of the Marxist view of religion. Religion adapts to the needs of social development and follows the law of continuous development and change alongside the evolution of social formations. Specifically, there are three laws:

  1. The law of religion adapting to the development and changes of the social economic base. From the process, state, and trends of religious evolution, it can be seen that religious consciousness must adapt to the objective requirements of social existence and development.
  2. The law of religion changing along with the development of social formations. All religions arise from the socio-historical conditions of various ethnic groups and evolve as those conditions evolve.
  3. The law of religion's existence and development under political influence. Religion belongs to the ideological superstructure; it is determined by the economic base and constrained by the political superstructure. Religion is not equivalent to politics, but it cannot be detached from politics. Because religion is not merely culture—it is also a social entity possessing powerful social organization, social mobilization, and social control. If religious issues are handled well, they can play an active role in economic construction, social development, and the stable life of the people; if handled poorly, they will produce negative effects.

The Communist Party differs from any governing power in history; it does not maintain its rule by playing up the role of religion. The main body and mainstream of socialist social culture is not a mystical religious culture; modern Chinese culture is a culture that gradually reveals human dignity, power, and glory through historical development, emphasizing the initiative and proactivity of the human being. The "Decision" of the Sixth Plenary Session of the 16th CPC Central Committee emphasized the implementation of the basic principles of religious work in conjunction with "strengthening the unity between believers and non-believers, and among followers of different religions." These "Two Unities" are the symbols of social harmony and the guarantee of social harmony. This reflects our Party's adherence to the "people-centered" [24] concept. We view and handle religious issues from the overall perspective of comprehensively building a moderately prosperous society and a harmonious society. The goal is to unite believers and non-believers, as well as followers of different religions, to coexist harmoniously and concentrate their will and strength on the common goal of building a moderately prosperous society and a harmonious society. This is the starting point and the ultimate goal of our religious work, and the higher value pursuit and work objective for Communists in religious work.

Therefore, the governing CPC must support and encourage the exploration and research of "religion is culture" by religious circles, and support and encourage various religions to carry out the construction of theological, Buddhist, and scriptural thought to excavate the endogenous factors and internal driving forces of religion's mutual adaptation with socialist society. This is done to unite religious figures and believers and to inherit and give play to the active factors in religious traditions and culture. We should encourage the academic community to study and guide these active factors to enrich the spiritual and cultural resources of socialist society. At the same time, we cannot reduce religion merely to culture; we must view religious issues more comprehensively and deeply, recognize the laws, grasp the laws, and shoulder our political and social responsibilities.

Notes: ... {13} Collected Works on Religion by Ren Jiyu, "On the Issue of Religion and Atheism," China Social Sciences Press, July 2010, pp. 194-195.

About the Author: Zhu Xiaoming is a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Vice President of the China Association for Preservation and Development of Tibetan Culture, and former Party Branch Secretary of the China Tibetology Research Center.