Effects of Belief and Practice among Affiliated and Nonaffiliated Chinese

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

Abstract

China today has seen a religious resurgence, but the majority of Chinese still are not affiliated with a religion or a religious group. However, most Chinese people report that they hold broadly religious beliefs and participate in activities that clearly involve religious elements. This situation presents a challenge for those who seek to study the full breadth of the religious landscape in China today. This quantitative project utilizes data from the 2007 Spiritual Life Study of Chinese Residents to examine the impact that affiliated and non-affiliated beliefs and practices have on the attitudes and actions of Chinese people today. This project demonstrates that those Chinese that hold belief are more likely to participate in religious activities even when they do not identify with a religious group. Further, this paper demonstrates that religious practice, and the combination of religious belief and practice, has a significant impact on attitudes Chinese people hold toward the world and the actions they take both for those who identify with religion and those who do not. The findings also serve as an invitation for qualitative researchers to more closely examine unaffiliated Chinese peoples in their consideration of the religious life of contemporary China.

Author

• Harrison Blaine Carter, University of California-San Diego