Religion in China
How sad: China Insists on Naming Living Buddha.
Well, religious freedom has never been high on the list for the Chinese government. Still, I don't think they realize how this could piss people off. Tibetan Buddhism, like Buddhism in general, is seeing a revitalization in China, and the government's heavy handiness could rub people the wrong way.
Religion is an interesting thing in my family.
My maternal grandmother is a devout Buddhist and my paternal grandmother a practicing Catholic. Both my parents were raised on healthy doses of Communist dogma which saw religion as a bunch of superstitious beliefs which keeps people in ignorance with its "feudal ways". I think they're agnostic right now, which fits in well with the nature of their jobs as research scientists. I'm a deist myself, which means I believe that a higher being was responsible for our creation but does not interfere with our day to day affairs.
People in this country often express surprise when they hear that my grandmothers are quite open about their religion.
My Buddhist grandmother goes to temple regularly, as she has done all her life. People are in even more surprised that my Catholic grandmother could practice her religion. One person asked me 'how is she doing?' like she had terminal cancer or something. I told him her health is fine, but thanks for asking...? Heehee.
There's a surprising amount of religious freedom in China, given the bad news we hear in the US. I don't believe there is religious freedom like in the US, but like anything else, as long as whatever you do don't bother the gov't, the gov't don't care.
My Catholic grandmother goes to one of those 'unofficial' churches that people point to as an example of religious persecution in China, but my father says she goes openly and no one bothers her.
The reason?
There's no 'official' church where she lives, so people accept the impromptu one she goes to. The Chinese gov't is only suspicious when there is an official church around and people huddle in each other's homes for church services instead.
They think, well, these people are obviously doing something subversive b/c there is a perfectly nice church provided for them but they just want to get together in secret and do their own thing.
So the gov't cracks down on them with this thought in mind. We, in the US, take the right to peaceful assembly for granted, but many other governments in the world are threatened by this idea.
I'm a first amendment nazi, but I realize that not all countries are as gung-ho about their right to free speech or free assembly as much as I am. Sad but true. What's even sadder is that while many Chinese people admire America for it's freedoms, they don't see that this is what makes the country great.
They think, if China keeps working hard and focused on economic development, China will be like the US eventually. Human rights, for many, is seen as a luxury and a subject most people would rather avoid.
I don't think people realize that you can't have one without the other. Unless China finds itself swimming in oil tomorrow, economic development will eventually hit a standstill unless there is political reform. The first amendment, while simple in idea, could go a long way in making China a far better place to live.
Well, religious freedom has never been high on the list for the Chinese government. Still, I don't think they realize how this could piss people off. Tibetan Buddhism, like Buddhism in general, is seeing a revitalization in China, and the government's heavy handiness could rub people the wrong way.
Religion is an interesting thing in my family.
My maternal grandmother is a devout Buddhist and my paternal grandmother a practicing Catholic. Both my parents were raised on healthy doses of Communist dogma which saw religion as a bunch of superstitious beliefs which keeps people in ignorance with its "feudal ways". I think they're agnostic right now, which fits in well with the nature of their jobs as research scientists. I'm a deist myself, which means I believe that a higher being was responsible for our creation but does not interfere with our day to day affairs.
People in this country often express surprise when they hear that my grandmothers are quite open about their religion.
My Buddhist grandmother goes to temple regularly, as she has done all her life. People are in even more surprised that my Catholic grandmother could practice her religion. One person asked me 'how is she doing?' like she had terminal cancer or something. I told him her health is fine, but thanks for asking...? Heehee.
There's a surprising amount of religious freedom in China, given the bad news we hear in the US. I don't believe there is religious freedom like in the US, but like anything else, as long as whatever you do don't bother the gov't, the gov't don't care.
My Catholic grandmother goes to one of those 'unofficial' churches that people point to as an example of religious persecution in China, but my father says she goes openly and no one bothers her.
The reason?
There's no 'official' church where she lives, so people accept the impromptu one she goes to. The Chinese gov't is only suspicious when there is an official church around and people huddle in each other's homes for church services instead.
They think, well, these people are obviously doing something subversive b/c there is a perfectly nice church provided for them but they just want to get together in secret and do their own thing.
So the gov't cracks down on them with this thought in mind. We, in the US, take the right to peaceful assembly for granted, but many other governments in the world are threatened by this idea.
I'm a first amendment nazi, but I realize that not all countries are as gung-ho about their right to free speech or free assembly as much as I am. Sad but true. What's even sadder is that while many Chinese people admire America for it's freedoms, they don't see that this is what makes the country great.
They think, if China keeps working hard and focused on economic development, China will be like the US eventually. Human rights, for many, is seen as a luxury and a subject most people would rather avoid.
I don't think people realize that you can't have one without the other. Unless China finds itself swimming in oil tomorrow, economic development will eventually hit a standstill unless there is political reform. The first amendment, while simple in idea, could go a long way in making China a far better place to live.