Communist Leaders Interested in Religious Media

You don't normally think of Communist Party members as people who big proponents of religious media, but a new analysis shows that China's government officials are more interested in access to religious media than any other occupational group.

According to an analysis by the Pew Forum of a 2005 InterMedia survey of 10,000 adults in China across broad regional and demographic groups.  Here are some of the highlights:

• 33% of Communist Party officials and government employees "are very or somewhat interested in having media access to information on the topic of religion."  Of the eleven occupational groups analyzed, this group was the most interested by far.  The second closest group, teachers and professors, was only 24%.
• Men and women had roughly the same interest in religion, with 22% and 21% of the population interested, respectively.  In other parts of the world, women tend to be more interested in religion. 
• 24% of city-dwellers expressed religious interest, versus 18% of those in rural settings.  These findings also differ from the global norms, where religious interest is higher in rural areas.
• Those with the highest levels of education also showed the most interest in religion, at 26%.

So, what do these numbers mean?

First of all, the high level of religious interest by the Communist Party is the most striking, since religion would not exist in a purely communist society. Cynics would probably view the government interest in negative terms, in the sense that religious knowledge could promote religious control or suppression.

While this is a possibility, I think a genuine curiosity is probably a greater cause.  First of all, the vast majority of China's Communist Party members have joined the Party for political promotion and better connections, rather than because of strict adherence to pure Maoist principles.   

Secondly, the vast majority of the world's population, or about 86%, identifies with a specific religion.  By contrast, at least 81% of Chinese list "none" as a religious affiliation.

China is not a country to base its policy decisions on peer pressure, but Chinese leaders have been astute observers of the outside world, in terms of business, education, and culture.  With the Olympics approaching, the Chinese government will be distributing thousands of government-issued Bibles to visitors and offering more religious services than ever. 

It's definitely advantageous for government workers to have a better understandng of religion and the role it plays in people's lives worldwide.  From a purely educational perspective, an understanding of the world's major religions sheds significant light on the political systems, art, literature, and overall culture worldwide.

With the growing numbers of religious believers within China, which is now at least 300 million, it's also useful to understand religion in a domestic context.  Beyond the government interest, Chinese throughout all sectors of society are interested in religion.  According to the Pew Forum survey, about a third of Chinese considered religion very or somewhat important to their daily lives.

At this point, there's still a disconnect between religious interest and practice.  Article 36 of the Chinese Constitution states, "citizens of the People's Republic of China enjoy freedom of religious belief," but as you can see from the China Aid Association, there are multiple acccounts that would prove otherwise.

Reconciling the stated policy and religious interest with nationwide practice remains a great challenge for China, and as the Olympics edge closer, the critics' voices are not dying down. 

I wouldn't expect any dramatic change in the near future,  but considering the religious interest of China's leaders, the longterm outlook remains promising.