Tag: Buddhism
Peoples of China
Disability and the Three Traditional Chinese Belief Systems
Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism
Within Chinese culture, people with disabilities have been stigmatized and devalued. This is the result of beliefs which create stereotypes leading to prejudice and discrimination. With a desire to reduce this stigma, scholars are examining Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism to uncover any hidden cultural prejudice and stereotypes causing these attitudes. This is a complex endeavor that requires much sensitivity to cultural nuances. However, the goal is for people to come together in honest dialog and humble sensitivity, unified in purpose and compassion to combat prejudice and discrimination.
A Closer Look at the China Religion Survey
In July, People’s University released the results of a multi-year survey of the religious environment in China. Many news outlets, both inside China and outside, covered the story, choosing to emphasize the growing popularity of religion among young people in China as well as the growth of Islam. But the survey was much broader and revealed other interesting data points about religion in China. The mainland site Christian Times took a close look at the survey and highlighted some of the other findings that did not get much play, particularly in the western press.
Book Reviews
The Christian Faith in Chinese Culture
A Book Review
Confucius, the Buddha, and Christ by Ralph R. Covell
and
Confronting Confucian Understandings of the Christian Doctrine of Salvation: A Systematic Theological Analysis of the Basic Problems in the Confucian-Christian Dialogue by Paulos Huang
Reviewed by G. Wright Doyle
Covell traces the history of the gospel in China from the Nestorians up to about 1980 and ways in which foreign missionaries, and then Chinese Christians, tried to express the gospel in terms which were, or were not, readily accessible to the people they hoped to reach. Huang's aim is to explain how different types of Confucianists have understood, and responded to the Christian doctrine of salvation.
Lead Article
Religious Statistics in China
Current evidence is that religion is flourishing in China. However, practical problems make statistical statements for the number of religious believers in China quite hazardous. The author cautiously examines the evidence that exists for each of the five, major, officially-recognized religious faiths in China.