Wang Zuoan: Advocating the Religious Work Concept of "Protection, Management, Guidance, and Service"
The report of the 18th National Congress of the Party emphasized the need to fully implement the Party’s basic policy on religious work, promote harmony in religious relations, and leverage the positive roles of religious personages and believers in promoting economic and social development. The General Program of the Constitution of the Communist Party of China (Amendment), adopted at the 18th National Congress, points out the necessity to "fully implement the Party’s basic policy on religious work and unite religious believers to contribute to economic and social development." These important discourses reflect our Party’s scientific attitude toward religion and demonstrate that our Party’s policies and principles on religious work have become more mature and confident, pointing the way forward for doing religious work well in the current and future periods.
Since the 16th National Congress of the Party, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Hu Jintao as General Secretary has attached great importance to religious work. Based on developments and changes in the domestic and international situation, and through an in-depth grasp of the laws governing religious development, it proposed a series of innovative views and adopted practical and effective measures, guiding religious work toward continuous new achievements. The basic policy of the Party’s religious work was established—namely, fully implementing the Party’s policy of freedom of religious belief, managing religious affairs in accordance with the law, adhering to the principle of independence and self-management, and actively guiding religions to adapt to socialist society—becoming the guide for action for religious work under the new situation. Religious relations were elevated to become one of the major relationships involving the overall interests of the Party and state in the political and social spheres, striving to achieve harmony between religion and society, harmony between different religions, and harmony between believers and non-believers, as well as between citizens who believe in different religions. The Regulations on Religious Affairs were promulgated and implemented, advancing the process of governing religious work according to the rule of law. Support was given to the religious community to strengthen its own development, to cultivate a contingent of patriotic and religious clergy members, and to leverage the role of religious organizations as a bridge and bond connecting the religious community and the masses of believers. Positive guidance was strengthened to play out the active role of religious personages and believers in promoting economic development, cultural prosperity, and social harmony. Adhering to the principle of independence and self-management, we resisted overseas infiltration utilizing religion and carried out friendly external exchanges in the religious field on the basis of equality and friendship. Our country’s religious sphere has maintained a sustained state of stability; believers and non-believers have committed themselves together to the cause of reform and opening up and modernization [1], and religious work has played an important role in promoting scientific development [2] and social harmony.
Under the new situation, correctly understanding and properly handling religious issues and doing religious work well is of great significance for promoting economic development and social harmony, ethnic unity and national reunification, and peaceful development and external relations. Under the guidance of the spirit of the 18th National Congress of the Party, we must fully implement the Party's basic policy on religious work, deeply implement the Regulations on Religious Affairs, advocate the religious work concept of "protection, management, guidance, and service," and unite religious personages and believers to work together for the comprehensive building of a moderately prosperous society [3].
First, we must earnestly implement the Party’s policy of freedom of religious belief and effectively safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the religious community. Protecting the freedom of religious belief of citizens is an important manifestation of our Party’s commitment to upholding the interests of the people, respecting civil rights, and protecting human rights. We must profoundly recognize the roots of religion’s existence and the laws of its development, prevent the use of administrative orders to handle religious issues, and avoid simple or crude methods when dealing with religious figures and believers. No matter the circumstances, the policy of freedom of religious belief cannot be shaken, much less changed. We must fully respect the freedom of citizens to choose whether to believe in a religion or not; there must be no interference or discrimination, and incidents that hurt the religious feelings of believers must be handled according to law. We must properly resolve contradictions arising from the implementation of policies regarding religious real estate, handle disputes triggered by the demolition and relocation of religious property in urban construction according to law, and resolutely correct any phenomena that infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of the religious community. We should earnestly implement the Opinions on Handling Issues Related to the Management of Buddhist Temples and Taoist Monasteries jointly issued by ten departments, coordinate interest disputes between places of religious activity and relevant social sectors, and stop and correct such phenomena as places of religious activity being "contracted out" or "listed on the stock market." Adhering to the principle of putting people first and prioritizing service, we must do a good job in incorporating religious clergy into the social security system and help believers solve practical difficulties, so they can share the fruits of reform and development and feel the care of the Party and government. By implementing the Party’s policy of freedom of religious belief, we should unite the broadest possible masses of believers and non-believers, concentrating their wisdom and strength toward the common goal of comprehensively building a moderately prosperous society.
Second, we must strengthen and innovate the management of religious affairs and continuously improve the level of the rule of law in religious work. Managing religious affairs according to law is an inevitable requirement for the rule of law and the building of a service-oriented government; it is an effective way to handle complex religious issues under the new situation. We must attach greater importance to the safeguarding role of the rule of law in religious affairs management, continue to advance religious legal construction, and, based on the new requirements placed on religious work by economic and social development, research new situations and problems in the religious field, promptly transforming mature and effective policy measures into laws and regulations. We should seize key links—such as the approval of the establishment of religious activity venues, the identification and filing of religious clergy, and the financial supervision of religious activity venues—to deeply implement the Regulations on Religious Affairs and continue to improve supporting measures. We must focus on promoting administration according to law, strengthen the building of law enforcement entities in religious work, improve law enforcement supervision and inspection, and enhance the ability of religious work cadres to use rule-of-law thinking and rule-of-law methods to handle religious affairs. We should strengthen religious legal publicity and education, implement the "Sixth Five-Year Plan for Popularizing Law" [4], and carry out in-depth activities such as the "Policy and Regulation Study Month" to enhance the national consciousness, civic consciousness, and legal consciousness of religious personages and believers. This will help them consciously fulfill the obligations prescribed by the Constitution and laws, learn to use legal means to safeguard their legitimate rights and interests, and consciously resist illegal and criminal activities conducted under the guise of religion, so they can be both good believers and good citizens. We should leverage the self-regulatory and collaborative roles of religious organizations in the management of religious affairs, promote democratic management of places of religious activity, stimulate the enthusiasm and initiative of believers to participate in the management of religious affairs, and improve a religious affairs management system characterized by Party committee leadership, government responsibility, social organization coordination, believer participation, and legal safeguards. We must strengthen grassroots religious work and improve and promote the three-level (county, township, and village) religious work management network and the two-level (township and village) religious work responsibility system.
Third, we must adhere to the principle of independence and self-management and actively carry out friendly religious exchanges with foreign countries. The fact that China’s religious affairs are handled independently by Chinese religious believers, free from the domination and control of foreign powers, is an autonomous choice made by our country's believers based on the historical fact that our country suffered long-term imperialist aggression and plunder, and that some religions were controlled and utilized by imperialism. For decades, independence and self-management, as an important principle for our country’s religions in handling foreign relations, has ensured the healthy development of religious undertakings, safeguarded national sovereignty and dignity, and won the understanding and support of religious organizations and figures in many countries. We must continue to conduct in-depth education on the principle of independence and self-management within the religious community, guiding them to profoundly grasp the spiritual essence and rich connotations of this principle, enhancing their sense of responsibility to safeguard national and ethnic interests, and increasing their consciousness and firmness in resisting infiltration, thereby consolidating the hard-won favorable situation of independence and self-management. We must respect the religious beliefs of foreigners in China and provide convenience for their religious lives, while requiring that they do not engage in activities that violate Chinese law. We encourage the religious community to carry out external exchanges on the basis of independence, equality, friendship, and mutual respect; continue to run the World Buddhist Forum and the International Taoist Forum successfully; strengthen bilateral religious exchanges; conduct dialogues on religion and human rights; and participate in the activities of international religious organizations. This will showcase the state of freedom of religious belief in our country, establish a good image for our country's religions, and create a more favorable external environment.
Fourth, we must support the religious community in strengthening its own development and guide religions to adapt to socialist society. Actively guiding religion to adapt to socialist society is a scientific judgment made based on our country's basic national conditions and the summary of successful experience in religious work. We must persist in political unity and cooperation and mutual respect in matters of belief, striving to enable the broad masses of believers to reach a consensus on major issues such as upholding the leadership of the Communist Party of China and the socialist system, loving the motherland, safeguarding national unity, and promoting social harmony, thereby enhancing the Party’s attraction and cohesion among believers. We support the development of religious ideological construction, encouraging Buddhism and Taoism to carry out exchanges on sutra explanations, Islam to carry out "scripture interpretation" work, Catholicism to promote democratic church management, and Protestantism to develop theological thought construction. In accordance with the development requirements of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics and in response to the needs of the healthy development of religions, we should provide interpretations of religious doctrines that meet the requirements of social progress, tap into the contents of religious doctrines, ethics, and culture that are conducive to social harmony, the progress of the times, and healthy civilization, and establish religious ideological systems that conform to basic doctrines, inherit fine traditions, and adapt to the reality of China’s social development. We must persist in right belief and right action, oppose bigotry and fanaticism, and resist fallacious and heretical theories. We support religious organizations in establishing and improving rules and regulations, improving their work style and methods, enhancing their capacity for self-education, self-management, self-adjustment, and self-improvement, establishing prestige among believers, and playing their role as a bridge connecting religious personages and believers. We should deeply study the characteristics and laws regarding the growth of patriotic religious figures, and in accordance with the requirements of being "politically reliable, academically accomplished, and morally capable of commanding public respect," we must increase training efforts to create a contingent of patriotic and religious clergy members. We support religious organizations in running religious colleges and universities as important bases for cultivating patriotic religious figures, important fronts for the correct interpretation of religious doctrines, and important platforms for training religious clergy.
Fifth, we must vigorously advocate the concept of religious harmony and focus on promoting harmony in religious relations. Promoting harmony in religious relations is an inherent part of building a harmonious society. We should advocate the concept of religious harmony, carry out in-depth activities to create harmonious temples and churches, and implement the Joint Declaration on Advocating Religious Harmony issued by our country’s five major religions in 2011 to build harmonious religious relations. Promote internal harmony within religions, achieving coordination and smoothness in internal relationships to build harmonious religions. Promote harmony between different religions, supporting all religions in promoting the fine traditions of mutual respect, mutual tolerance, and common progress, strengthening dialogue and exchange, enhancing mutual understanding, and achieving a favorable situation of diverse coexistence and harmonious symbiosis [5]. Promote harmony in the relationship between religion and society, guiding religion to take the initiative to adapt to, integrate into, and actively serve society, so that religious activities reflect the principle of right belief, comply with policies and laws, and promote public order and good customs, becoming a positive factor for enhancing social harmony. Promote harmony in church-state relations, adhering to the principle of separation of church and state, with all religions persisting in conducting activities within the scope of the law, consciously accepting government management, and not interfering in the implementation of state functions such as the judiciary, administration, and education; they should participate in the country’s political life in a lawful and orderly manner and actively fulfill their social responsibilities.
Sixth, we must fully play out the positive role of religion in contributing to the comprehensive building of a moderately prosperous society. Religious personages and believers are active forces in building socialism with Chinese characteristics, and leveraging their positive role in promoting economic and social development is a fundamental requirement of religious work under the new situation. We should encourage the broad masses of believers to work diligently in their respective positions, commit themselves to creation, and practice their faith with outstanding achievements. We support the religious community in exploring contents within religious ethics—such as abandoning evil and promoting good—that are consistent with socialist morality, playing an active role in following social ethics, professional ethics, family virtues, and personal character. We should guide religious figures to correctly handle the adjustment of interests during reform and development, assist the Party and government in coordinating relationships and resolving contradictions, and help believers comfort their souls, stabilize their emotions, adjust their psychology, and cultivate a self-respecting, confident, rational, peaceful, and upward-looking mentality. We support the religious community in promoting fine traditional Chinese culture, tapping into resources of excellent traditional religious culture, compiling and publishing religious cultural classics, protecting religious relics, inheriting religious non-material cultural heritage, and carrying out external exchanges of religious culture. We support the religious community in engaging in public welfare and charitable activities, earnestly implementing the Opinions on Encouraging and Regulating the Participation of the Religious Community in Public Welfare and Charitable Activities issued by six central departments, and carrying out "Religious Charity Week" activities to promote the healthy development of religious public welfare and charity. We support the religious community in the mainland to deepen exchanges and cooperation with the religious communities in the Hong Kong and Macao regions, and support the religious community in the mainland to carry out friendly exchanges with the religious community in the Taiwan region, enhancing understanding among people in the four regions across the Taiwan Strait to jointly participate in building the shared home of the Chinese nation. We encourage the religious community to oppose and resist illegal activities involving the use of religion to harm the interests of the state and the people, and to struggle against the secessionist and destructive activities of the Dalai clique and the "Three Forces" [6] that utilize religion, thereby safeguarding social stability, ethnic unity, and national reunification.
(The author is the Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Director of the State Administration for Religious Affairs)