NPR：宗教不再是“精神鸦片”填补精神真空：中国人归向宗教信仰

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　　中国经济腾飞举世瞩目。与此同时，宗教信仰对人们似乎变得越发重要，给这个国家带来潜移默化的影响。
　　2006年中国第一次大规模宗教信仰调查显示，在总共约4500名受访者中，31.4%的民众表示信奉某种宗教。如此算来，中国这个无神论国家约有3亿人信教，这个惊人的数字是之前官方预计的3倍。官方统计的信徒人数多年来保持不变。
　　意识形态的日益瓦解让中国人面对极大的精神空虚。他们耽耽渴慕一个新的精神家园，盼望找到能替代如今迅速蹿升的物质主义价值观。
　　“中国人一向不知道应该信什么。”参与信仰调查的上海华东师范大学教授刘忠宇说，“现在政治气氛宽松下来了，大家纷纷诉诸宗教信仰寻求心灵上的安慰。”
　　一位来自偏远农村的年轻的基督教福音派传道人辗转到祖国东部传播自己的信仰。中国东部地区多盛行新教。她认为自己的信仰历程是中国严苛的教育制度下的巨大压力使然。
　　“高中时代我一直很沮丧。”这个英文名叫妮可的伶俐女孩说道，“那时候我觉得人们活着没有方向，每天的生活毫无色彩，枯燥乏味。总能感到来自学校很大的压力。但神一直帮助我，让我内心得到释放。”
　　尽管在今天的中国，传道仍被视作非法，她和她的同道们尚可在村里公开宣教，不受官方干扰。1976年**结束后，信仰自由在中国一直经历着漫长的阵痛与挣扎。**时期，一切宗教活动都被严令禁止，和尚、僧侣、牧师等神职人员纷纷被判入狱或被要求劳动改造。
　　创建“和谐社会”
　　2006年以来，中国政府对宗教问题的立场有所转变，认为宗教能够成为加速实现“和谐社会”这一最终目标的一股推动力。
　　“关键问题是使宗教信仰合法化，”时任中国国家宗教事务局局长叶小文在2006年7月对新华社记者如此说道。这是其近年来首次接受媒体采访。
　　2009年9月，王作安接替了坚持走强硬路线的叶小文。国家宗教事务局对此事未加评论，并回绝了相当长一段时间持续不断的媒体采访请求。
　　在中国历史上，由宗教信仰引发的农民抗议屡见不鲜。也正为如此，一些研究中国问题额人之初，政府总担心宗教可能会成为影响社会稳定的一大社会和政治问题。
　　“不论是农民合作社、童子军、红十字会还是天主教会，在政府眼中没有区别。”在中国传教多年的佳贞妮修女说。“组织*会需要政府官员参加和财政支持，还要对*会进行某种程度监控的措施。政府不仅想知道*会的内容，还要搞明白大家怎样*会。”
　　1949年建国后，中国政府官方承认5种宗教：基督教新教、天主教、佛教、道教和伊斯兰教，各个宗教都设立了各自的协会来监督指导宗教活动。
　　从前苏联照搬过来的中国宗教政策缺乏必要的灵活性。美国天主教中美交流中心的满而溢神父认为“政府对制定宗教政策没有什么概念。”
　　但通过与一些中国宗教事务官员在去年的谈话，他觉得中国的宗教政策或许会有所转变。
　　满而溢神父说：“官员们这样表示：'我们正在寻求制定新的宗教政策，这些政策比建国初期从前苏联引进的那一套更符合中国当前国情。'”
　　散播超出掌控
　　宗教信仰的种子如今俯仰皆拾，在神州大地生根发芽。宗教信仰的传播速度之快远远超出政府预期。许多属灵相关的活动纷纷兴起，多种中国传统宗教派别也随之复兴。据2006年进行的宗教信仰调查，自认为信教的人中有三分之二信奉佛教、道教或龙王、财神爷等其他中国民间神明。
　　还有相当一部分人信奉妈祖。妈祖被奉为保护航海者的神明。尽管频频出现在道观及佛教圣殿，与其他众多传统土著神明一道，她始终被挡在国家承认的官方宗教行列之外。然而，妈祖崇拜最近被列为“文化遗产”而非宗教活动。如此，即使是共产党员也更容易接受。
　　据一些学者，这种方式在其他中国传统宗教信仰崇拜问题的处理上也找得到。
　　为了复兴并践行中国传统文化，鼓励敬拜祖先，政府近来出台了一些新举措。2009年，中国政府首次正式认定中国传统扫墓祭祖日清明节为公共假日。这一新规让众多中国民众得以在清明节当日侍奉已故的亲人。
　　“现在政府也支持我们了，”说这话时，邵龙山（音译）满脸泪痕还未干。今年四月五日清明节，他得以悼念逝去的爱妻。在上海市郊一处公墓，他在妻子朱洁芬（音译）墓前深深鞠躬。
　　同时，中国政府也对佛教活动给予特别的支持。有学者认为，此举意在使佛教与眼下在中国飞速传播的基督教信仰相平衡。
　　传递信仰：富足的年轻一代
　　另外一大变化是，越来越多的年轻人开始参与宗教活动。2006年的调查显示，62%的教徒年龄在39岁以下。
　　教徒年轻化的趋势在被称作“中国的耶路撒冷”的沿海城市温州可见一斑。在民众私下组织的祷告会上，众多基督教友赞美崇拜他们的救主耶稣。这些不少虔诚的教徒中，不少人看上去相当年轻，并且看得出来他们足够富有。政府附属的媒体最近对当地教会做了多则富同情口吻的报道，这群基督徒也由此盼望他们的*会有一天会视作正当合法。
　　中国社会科学院学者刘鹏对《环球时报》记者表示，政府在宗教问题上的立场与基督徒的需求存在“巨大鸿沟”。
　　“目前较小规模 的家庭教会更能让人们的精神需求得到满足，大家可以选出自己的牧师……这颇像经济改革。当国有企业不能满足社会需要，私营企业自然而然就出现了。”刘鹏说。
　　信仰与财富之间的关系在越来越多的温州“老板基督徒”或“基督徒创业者”们身上体现得尤为突出。他们在各地修建教堂、建立教会，散播基督信仰的温州品牌。有学者认为他们将大大推动基督信仰在中国的飞速传播。
　　过去十年来，政府的宗教政策已经有显著松动。2005年，中国通过新规定，准许宗教团体进行多种活动，其中包括遣送其成员赴海外学习交流、出版宗教刊物等。
　　对于很多天主教会来说，神职人员得以去美国等国学习深造。面对分隔数十载的官方许可的教会和私密的城乡家庭教会，传道人们已经困惑许久，他们渴望得到更多理论和实践指导。
　　经济腾飞对中国的穆斯林同样有着未知的影响，尤其对女性教长而言。微薄的薪水让老教长很难找到新的教长人选。中国是世界上唯一一个有着为女性提供独立清真寺传统的国家，阿甸（教长）负责带领崇拜事工、查可兰经。但年老的女阿甸们说，其他领域的经济机会不断增多，愿意全职侍奉的女性越来越少了。
　　重设北京姿态？
　　面对众多中国的宗教问题，始于基层的要求变革的压力越发不可忽视。一些观察员留意到了来自上层新的回应。
　　“这不仅仅需要民众支持，更亟需政府富有建设性的思维和创举。”乔治城大学伯克利中心宗教、和平及世界事务处主任托马斯o本乔弗这样认为。
　　伯克利中心每年与中国宗教事务官员定期举行会面。本乔弗表示，“在中国，越来越多的大学建立起由公众支持的宗教研究机构，并且开始听到关于宗教对中国社会产生何种积极影响的广泛讨论”。这些迹象都表明中国政府对宗教问题的观念开始发生转变，并寻求采取不同以往的处理方式。
　　面对宗教信仰问题这样一个全新而重大的挑战，中国在摸索前行。改革的点滴进步时而因地方层面上的压制有所抵消，但共产党政府的长期努力已然开始。（编辑对本文有删节）

英文原文：


　　Chinese Turn To Religion To Fill A Spiritual Vacuum
　　by Louisa Lim
　　Alongside China's astonishing economic boom, an almost unnoticed religious boom has quietly been taking place.
　　In the country's first major survey on religious beliefs, conducted in 2006, 31.4 percent of about 4,500 people questioned described themselves as religious. That amounts to more than 300 million religious believers, an astonishing number in an officially atheist country, and three times higher than the last official estimate, which had largely remained unchanged for years.
　　The collapse of the communist ideology created a void that has left many Chinese staring into a spiritual vacuum, looking for a value system to counterbalance the rampant materialism that seems to govern life in China.
　　"Chinese people don't know what to believe in anymore," says Liu Zhongyu, a professor at East China Normal University in Shanghai, who conducted the survey. "And since the political atmosphere has relaxed, they turn to religion for comfort."
　　One young evangelical Christian missionary travels from rural village to village in the Protestant heartland in eastern China to proselytize. She attributed her own conversion to the overwhelming pressures of China's education system.
　　"In high school, I felt very depressed," said the bright-eyed young woman, who gave her name as Nicole. "I felt people had no direction, and I felt life was dry and boring. I felt the pressure of school was very high. God helped me and liberated me."
　　Although proselytizing is still illegal in China today, she and a group of friends are openly preaching in villages, without official interference. China has come a long way from the dark days of the Cultural Revolution, which ended in 1976, when all religious practice was banned, and monks and clergy were sent to prison or to perform hard labor.
　　Creating A 'Harmonious Society'
　　Since 2006, the position of China's government has been that religion can be a force for good toward the ultimate aim of creating a "harmonious society."
　　"What is important is that the work should be done on a legal basis," Ye Xiaowen, the official then in charge of religious affairs, told state-run Xinhua news agency in July 2006, in his first interview in a decade.
　　Ye, seen as a hardliner, was replaced by his deputy Wang Zuo'an in September 2009. The State Administration for Religious Affairs refused to comment for this series, and turned down repeated requests for interviews over an extended period of time.
　　China has a long history of peasant rebellions fueled by religious belief, and observers say the communist government still views religion with caution, seeing it as a social issue and political issue that could affect social stability.
　　"It doesn't matter to the Chinese government whether you are a farmers' union, a Boy Scout troop, the Red Cross or the Catholic Church," says Sister Janet Carroll, a nun who has been active in China for decades. "If you gather people together, have authorities in place, financial means and some sort of organizational control over groups of people, the Chinese government wants to not only know about it, but also have a say about how it all functions."
　　To that end, after the communist revolution in 1949, the government recognized five official religions: Protestantism, Catholicism, Buddhism, Daoism and Islam. For each of them, associations were set up to supervise and monitor religious practice.
　　China adopted the religious policy of the Soviet Union, with a few adaptations, says the Rev. Michel Marcil, director of the U.S. Catholic China Bureau. "They had no idea of what a religious policy was," he says.
　　But Marcil says conversations with Chinese religious affairs officials last year have led him to believe there could be policy changes.
　　"They said, 'We are now trying to find something which would be much more adapted to China and its present situation than what we took from Russia back in 1949,' " he says.
　　Spread Of Religion Beyond Government Control
　　Across China, religious belief has blossomed and flourished - far outpacing the government's framework to control it - with a profusion of charismatic movements and a revival in traditional Chinese religions. Two-thirds of those who described themselves as religious in the 2006 survey said they were Buddhists, Taoists or worshippers of folk gods such as the Dragon King or the God of Fortune.
　　Another popular goddess is Mazu, who is believed to protect sailors. Although she is included in the Daoist and Buddhist pantheons, she - and many other indigenous popular gods - falls outside China's five official religions. However, the worship of Mazu recently has been reclassified as "cultural heritage" rather than religious practice, making it acceptable even for Communist Party members.
　　Academics say that model is being used elsewhere in China for other indigenous folk religions.
　　There are also government attempts to support traditional Chinese practices such as ancestor worship, by changing the public holidays. In 2009, the government declared the Qingming Festival - the traditional day for sweeping graves - a public holiday for the first time, allowing much larger numbers of people to sweep their ancestral graves.
　　"Now the government supports us," says Shao Longshan, his cheeks still tear-stained after bowing deeply in front of the grave of his late wife, Zhu Jiefen, at a cemetery on the outskirts of Shanghai during the Qingming Festival in early April. "Not only does this let the people who are alive remember those who have gone, but [it allows us to] keep the Chinese traditions and culture."
　　The Chinese government has also given extra support to Buddhism in what scholars say is an attempt to counterbalance the explosion of Christian faith.
　　Faith Growing Among The Young
　　Another recent development is that increasing numbers of younger people are practicing religion. The 2006 survey showed 62 percent of religious believers are 39 and younger.
　　This trend was evident at an unregistered meeting of Christians worshipping in a charismatic underground prayer meeting in the coastal city of Wenzhou, known as "China's Jerusalem." Many of the devout were young and obviously well-off. Such underground Christians have recently received surprisingly sympathetic coverage in the state-run media, raising hopes that their meetings may be legitimized.
　　One scholar, Liu Peng of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that "a huge gap" exists between the government's position on religion and Christians' needs.
　　"House churches also operate on a smaller scale, which means people's spiritual needs can be met more easily and they elect their own pastors. ... It's rather like the economic changes. When state-owned enterprises couldn't meet the public's needs, private businesses naturally appeared," he told the newspaper.
　　That link between belief and wealth is also apparent in the emergence of "boss Christians," or Christian entrepreneurs, in Wenzhou. Academics say they are helping the rapid spread of Christianity in China by building churches elsewhere to spread the "Wenzhou brand" of Christianity.
　　There has already been a significant relaxation of the government's religious policies over the past decade. New regulations passed in 2005 allow religious groups to send members overseas for study and to publish religious literature, among other things.

　　For Catholics, this has led to many clergy being able to study in the U.S. and elsewhere. They are struggling with both the theory and practice of reconciling communities who have been divided for decades: the state-sanctioned church and underground communities loyal to the Holy See.
　　The economic boom also is having unforeseen consequences for China's Muslims, in particular its female imams, who report difficulty recruiting new imam candidates because of the paltry salaries. China is the only place in the world that has a tradition of independent female mosques, with their own ahong, or imams, to lead prayers and teach the Quran to women. But older female ahong report that the economic opportunities offered elsewhere mean that few women are drawn to the profession.
　　Beijing Rethinking Its Stance?
　　On a wide range of religious issues, there's clearly pressure for change in China from the grass roots, and some observers have noticed a new responsiveness from the top down.
　　"This is not simply something from below, but it's being met from above in constructive ways as well," says Tom Banchoff, director of Georgetown University's Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs.
　　His organization holds annual meetings with Chinese religious affairs officials. He says this new attitude is evidenced by "the fact there are centers for religious studies arising at universities around China with public support, the fact that there's now a discourse about the positive role that religion can play in Chinese society."
　　This does represent a change in attitude, but at the same time, many accounts are emerging from within China of leaders of larger unsanctioned religious groups being subject to official harassment and persecution, sometimes ending up in detention and even jail.
　　China's communist leaders are, it appears, still struggling with how to deal with this unruly religious boom, and their cautious steps forward sometimes end up being counterbalanced by reflexive crackdowns at a local level.
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