The Impact of Differing Levels of Legal Regulation on Chinese Religiosity

• In Event: 262 - Section on Sociology of Religion Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 07. Chinese Religion

Abstract

The Chinese government’s regulation of religion has had a dramatic impact on the Chinese religious field, but the strictness and enforcement of these regulations vary by location. This paper examines the strictness of provincial-level religion regulations and finds that people are more likely to identify as religious or hold religious beliefs in provinces that have stricter laws, ones that explicitly outlaw the practices of “feudal superstition” or “heterodox cults” at religious sites. This provides support for the idea that the Chinese government’s religious regulations function in a manner similar to Iannaccone’s (1994) strict churches: they create such a high bar for religious commitment that they serve as a regulating mechanism that filters out free riders. Even though the majority of Chinese engage in practices that could be termed religious, only a minority identify as religious or hold religious beliefs.

Author

• Megan Rogers, University of Notre Dame