理查德·马德森：中国是宗教国家、百分之八十五的人有信仰
因为社会和政治不安全使人们向宗教寻找答案。尽管明令禁止，但许多党员暗中信奉宗教。政府高度重视稳定，因为不稳定因素极其强烈、民众十分担心。美国加利福尼亚州大学圣地亚哥分校宗教社会学教授理查德·马德森的分析第四部分
圣地亚哥（亚洲新闻）—在中国，百分之八十五的人有宗教信仰。但官方统计数字中，只有一亿人信教。除人口老化外，也是因为社会和政治不安全才促使人们向宗教寻找答案的。甚至习近平的反腐斗争中也明令禁止党员信教，即便退休后也不可以。这是美国加利福尼亚州大学圣地亚哥分校宗教社会学教授理查德·马德森的分析成果。
亚洲新闻通讯社分段发表他与中心副主任 Samuel Tsoi的一篇长篇对话。以下为长篇对话的第四部分：
Prof. Madsen, thank you for painting this broad picture of the various aspects and scenarios of Christianity. The Pentecostals, who emphasize preaching, evangelism, many of these Christians are taking on different roles, with different entities in order to continue to profess their faith. Now I have another question... especially in the urban context many of these Christians are becoming much more sophisticated, and work on the intellectual traditions of Christianity, thinking about how Christian theology is integrated with their Chinese cultural heritage and the problems they see in society, especially in this time of rapid change in the Chinese world. At the same time members of the CCP are officially atheists ... Are there other examples of how Christians in urban communities are in some way unofficially infiltrating the Communist Party or some study on how leaders succeed or not to ensure their members do not ‘succumb’ to Christianity or any other religion?
Well, from what I know, there are no studies. Anyway, earlier this year [2016] the Chinese Communist Party issued new regulations for the members of the Party emphasizing that they are not allowed to practice religion so there was a sort of repression. The Party leadership has issued very explicit regulations and this is a phenomenon that has been going on for some time. One thing I have noticed is that often when some party members are retiring, people start to age, to think about the last things, death, and then you see people who come to various forms of faith and begin to practice some religion. I had a friend who was among the elite of the Communist Party, and his father was a famous general of the party, a revolutionary even with his wife. When his father died ten years ago, the mother went to the temple every day to pray for him. This is a human thing, a thing that the party ideology does not provide: when someone dies, you cry and seek consolation. I'm sure this kind of thing happens all over the country, and therefore the Party members may also be atheists, but they feel, in their heart of hearts, an interest in what is "beyond" ... In fact, the interesting phenomenon - and there was no need for this to be Christian - it is that people believe in many mysterious and supernatural aspects. A renowned personality was brought to trial for corruption, Zhou Yongkang. Well one of the accusations against him was his contacts with a famous soothsayer, Xin Jiang, and this in order to understand show how the "spiritual" is a bad thing for the leadership.
In China even the highest elite cares about the faith, and tries to understand and master fate and fortune. The government emphasizes its stability because instead there is a potential instability and the people are very worried. Even Party officials and others are worried about being somehow accused of corruption, removed from office. Everything seems arbitrary: This is why people throw themselves on faith, trying to know and ensure their future / destiny. Also in business it is as follows: You win today, lose tomorrow and so you must find the way to reduce anxiety and insecurity, by looking for some meaning in life.
A survey by the Pew Research Centre showed that today, in China, at least two-thirds of people are atheists, the highest percentage (by country) of atheists in the world. But another survey of the Yan Fan Gan foundation says that there are religions and people engaged in religious rituals, praying for the sick or dead, who go to fortune tellers, or believe in ghosts, ... in short, all those who have a religious sensitivity, represent 85% of the Chinese population. Of course at this rate there are also the official religions, the official Church, but these are a small part. The 85% is more or less the same percentage of those in America who say they believe in God. Religion is pervasive even if it does not take on institutional forms.
