Religious Administration Work

Texte de Gosselin Sirois, Sophie

To Deeply Implement the Scientific Outlook on Development in Religious Administration Work

Ye Xiaowen was born in 1950, in Guiyang, in the Guizhou province.  He is recognized as having excelled in the domains of philosophy and sociology. Early in the 1990's, he worked for the  All-China Youth Federation as Deputy Secretary-General, followed by his implication  as director of the Bureau of Religious Affairs under the state council.  Moreover, he has been active in  the Chinese Society of Human Rights,  the China Sociology Society, and was the director of the State Administration of Religious Affairs from 1998 to 2009.  He currently is a member of the central committee of the Communist Party of China, and is also the Vice-President of the Central Institute of Socialism.

This text focuses on three discussions that Ye Xiaowen had, with the idea of exploring religion by “taking people as the base”.  The main point of the first one is that it is in the government's best interest to strive to develop the positive impact and functions of the various religious elements, namely the religious leaders and the believing masses.  Using the “truce” of the socialist construction as an example, he states that it is possible for the religious organization and the Chinese Communist Party to work together, A.K.A. That the Chinese Communist Party could, and should, “join with the believing masses to and make a contribution to the development of the economy and the society”.  To put it shortly, the Communist Party should have the religious groups working toward their own goals rather than opposing them.

The second part, much shorter than the two others, is about the importance of the understanding of the religious questions by the authority.  He note that thing are not internationally peaceful, and that people turn to religion during confusing periods, which is a phenomenom that China is not immune to.  He, of course, mention that some countries use the various religions to “steal people's soul”, to undercut governmental power, etc.  He is obviously going with the anti-religious propaganda, diabolizing it and insisting that a close eye be kept on the global religious situation.

The third discussion is about how the “believing masses”, as Ye Xiaowen never stops using that terms and never seems to bother using another one, should be made to understand that putting religion under political control would be the best course action, how everything could be so much better if the religious organizations worked hand in hand with the communist party.  He insists that the party must, amongst other things, properly educate the masses so that they too would come to understand thing as they do.

“We must strengthen or education and guidance of the believing masses, and deeply carry out
patriotic education, increase the national consciousness of the believing masses, their
civic consciousness, and lead the believing masses to a correct understanding of the
relationship between the nation and belief, rights and duties.”