Signs & Portents
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Pagan News Beagle: Faithful Friday, June 26
China. The world's largest country by population, third largest by area, and second largest by production. What's spiritual life like in this rising power? Although the state publicly disavows religion and most of the population is officially irreligious, it turns out there's a deep current of spirituality and religion throughout much of the country, beneath the surface. This week for Faithful Friday we take a look at the religions of China, the Middle Kingdom, and where they stand today. Taoism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and even new religions like Falun Dafa (Falun Gong), all this and more for the Pagan News Beagle!
Many of you may be familiar with some of the basic concepts and symbols of Taoism, like the famous "yin-yang" emblem. But what does Taoism represent in modern China? World Religion News interviews Taoist monk Min Zhiting on the subject, getting an inside look at the ancient religion, which is often blended with so-called "Chinese folk religion."
Although it's not the largest branch of Buddhism in East Asia (or even China specifically), Vajrayana Buddhism, also known as Lamaism or "Tibetan Buddhism" is certainly the most commonly recognized in the West. But while the Dalai Lama is generally regarded with respect and admiration by the sect's practitioners, not everyone views him so positively. This article from The Guardian takes a view of the ongoing controversy involving the Shugden Buddhist community of Tibet and its theological conflict with the Dalai Lama.
When the 1949 Revolution saw the overthrow of the nationalist government and its replacement by the current communist regime Confucianism, like most traditional Chinese value systems, was regarded as decadent and antiquated. However, now it would seem the religious and moral philosophy is making a comeback... with the help of the very Communist Party that formerly disparaged it! Read more over at The Huffington Post.
Although we don't often think of Islam as a Chinese religion, it's had a presence in the country for well over a millennium and two of the five recognized ethnic minorities of China (a group which also includes Tibetans, Mongols, and the Zhuang), the Hui and the Uyghurs, are largely defined by their Muslim faith. This photo shoot and article from Feature Shoot takes an inside look at the lives of the country's Muslims and their unique blend of Islamic and Chinese values and culture.
Paganism is generally regarded in the West as an example of "new religious movements," religious minorities that have sprung up over the last century or so and which retain little cultural power but are rapidly growing. But few new religious movements have been as successful—or as stringently repressed—as the Falun Dafa community (better known as Falun Gong) in China, which at one point had as many as 70 million adherents, before suffering severe government repression. If you want to learn more about this new Chinese religion, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) has the scoop.
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