ABSTRACT
This chapter presents some important new findings about religion in contemporary China that are based on multivariate statistical analysis of national random sample survey data. It describes the broad theoretical framework of modernization and secularization and their application to the study of religion in contemporary China. The freedom to believe in religion described above refers to government-approved forms of five major traditions Buddhism, Taoism, Catholic and Protestant Christianity, and Islam. This does not include independent groups of these traditions or traditional Chinese folk religion the latter being viewed by the Communist Party as feudal superstition' and unworthy of recognition. The recent rapid modernization in China and the sharp shift from a state-controlled to a more market-based economy and society in the post-Mao period have brought substantial material benefits to many citizens. The concept of modernization is used to describe a society in terms of economic growth, industrialization, changing occupational structure, and the expansion of education, institutional differentiation and urbanization.
