ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an introduction to religion and its regulation in Chinese history and overviews the regulation of religion since 1978. It discusses the contemporary issues relating to religion and the rule of law in China, a brief description of models of constitutional, legislative, and regulatory change that are under consideration in China. According to Yang, the Chinese religious market consists of three markets: the red market, the black market, and the gray market. The gray market directly contributes to the social unrest the current regulatory system is intended to prevent as groups operating within the gray market transition into the black market, whether voluntarily or by edict of CPC officials. The design of the CPC in creating these devices for regulation has been to ensure Communist oversight over religious organizations to prevent these groups from incubating anti-Communist groups and subverting Communist influence over the Chinese people.
