HISTORY AND CURRENT ISSUES

L. A. AFONINA

Far East Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Keywords: PRC, religion, religious associations, real estate, property, law, legislative regulation

Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, religious regulation - a system of State participation in the legitimate presence of religious communities in the country's life - has always been implemented under the slogan of religious freedom. However, depending on the political conditions in the country, the approaches and methods of this regulation have undergone significant changes.

An important indicator of the course of state regulation in the religious sphere is legislative regulation and law enforcement practice in relation to the real estate of religious organizations. Studying changes in the real estate status of religious communities can significantly deepen the understanding of religious policy in the PRC and track its transformation at various stages.

To analyze these changes, it is necessary to consistently consider the development of relations between the state and religions. As a rule, the change of stages occurred after the adoption of landmark documents by the party and state bodies. Among them are the Law of the People's Republic of China on Agrarian Reform of 1950, the "Decree on the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution" of 1966, Document No. 19 of 1982, Document No. 6 of 1991, Document No. 145 of 1994, and, finally, the "Regulation on Religious Activities" of 2005.

We will follow the content of religious policy at each of these stages.

The Communist Party of China (CPC), shortly after coming to power in 1949, proclaimed religious freedom as the basis of its policy on religious issues. This is reflected legally in all the constitutions of the People's Republic of China (Article 36 of the current Constitution of 1982). However, in the Chinese version, the understanding of religious freedom differs from that in Western countries-the right to profess and practice any religion without the dominant and determining role of the state apparatus. In our opinion, religious policy throughout the history of the PRC has not been a consistent political course, but a search for ways to manage the religious sphere.

SHAPING RELIGIOUS POLICY

Stage 1. In the first year of the PRC's existence, religious organizations functioned under the old order, and the real estate they owned served religious purposes.

The Law of the People's Republic of China on Agrarian Reform was adopted in June 1950.1 It was aimed primarily at eliminating the old system of feudal land ownership, but at the same time affected the interests of religious organizations. Thus, Article 3 provided for the alienation of lands belonging to ancestral sanctuaries, temples, monasteries, churches, schools, and religious communities.²

Buddhist and Taoist monasteries suffered the greatest damage, losing their land, and some of their abbots were persecuted as large landowners.³ The law, however, contained a reservation regarding the land of mosques, which "with the consent of the local Muslim population can be reserved for them in whole or in part."⁴. The lands and property of religious organizations in the Muslim regions of the PRC were practically unaffected by the transformation in order to avoid social unrest among Muslim national minorities.⁵

In March 1951. The Central Committee of the party issued Instructions to the movement for the active promotion of religious renewal, which required all party organizations to unite believers and " develop and strengthen the anti-imperialist united front with religious circles."⁶. Control over the religious population in China was tightened due to the fear that the world's religions could become a channel for the penetration of enemy ideas and destabilization of society in the context of the ongoing Korean War.⁷

As part of the movement for religious renewal, the country's leadership has taken the path of creating national patriotic religious associations with representatives at the provincial, city and county levels for the main religions (Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism and Protestantism). The affiliation of communities and believers to associations became mandatory. They have become the only possible form of legal existence for believers in China. Patriotic religious associations were called upon by the State to carry out their work in close cooperation with government agencies.

Religious activists began to advocate for the construction of a new China and for the independence of the country's religious communities from foreign influence. This is how the movement for the "three independencies" (San Tzu) emerged - "self-administration", "self-provision", and"self-preaching". This concept was aimed at prohibiting foreigners from participating in the activities of religious communities in China, from receiving their financial assistance to abandoning Western traditions in Christianity and creating their own Chinese theology.⁸

In the wake of this movement, foreign religious missions were expelled from China9, and their property passed into the hands of the state on the basis of the State Administrative Council's "Regulations on the Registration of Cultural, Educational, and Economic Institutions" previously adopted.-

organizations and religious associations operating on foreign funds or allowances " (December 29, 1950) ¹⁰.

The formation of religious associations accelerated the process of expropriation of land from religious communities. In particular, the property of Buddhist monasteries was declared public property. For example,in Anqing City, Anhui Province, by 1965, the number of monasteries had dropped from 871 to 234, and the number of other buildings belonging to monasteries had dropped from 4,000 to 1,799. ¹¹ Local governments began to require Christian communities to register ownership of church buildings and pay full property taxes, otherwise the property of parishes could be seized.¹²

At the same time, in internal directives, the CPC Central Committee called on all party and state organizations related to the religious sphere to assist religious communities in implementing the principle of "self-sufficiency^": to help religious communities receive payments from rented space, to sell part of their property, which would not only allow them to receive money, but also then reduce tax rates. amounts. Subsequently, starting in 1956, local property control authorities took over the problem of renting out the real estate of many religious communities in the cities, after which they regularly paid the communities a portion of the proceeds due to them to cover the costs of repairing temples and paying for the work of staff.¹⁴

In January 1956, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Office of Religious Affairs under the State Council issued a circular concerning religious property previously owned by foreign missions. It says: "With regard to resolving the fate of the real estate of foreign religious missions, the government, in principle, should not advocate for its nationalization, but with the development of the patriotic movement in the religious sphere, this property should gradually become the property of Chinese religious communities. ¹⁵ Thus, the ownership of foreign missions began to pass from the state to Chinese communities.

Thus, the religious policy in the PRC in the 1950s can be considered as a policy of controlled freedom. It was characterized by a moderate approach to cooperative religious communities, and at the same time a forceful approach to those who did not want to fit into the new model. ¹⁶ Religious groups enjoyed some freedom if they distanced themselves from communicating with foreign religious communities and supported the communist government. The property of religious organizations was placed under the control of the state, which applied different approaches for different religions.

Stage 2. A new stage in the history of regulating religious relations in China came after 1957, when "leftist" sentiments began to prevail in domestic politics. With the start of the Great Leap Forward campaign (1958-1960), measures in the field of religion were significantly tightened: religious activities were reduced to a minimum, and worshippers were sent to labor camps and compulsory labor.¹⁷

In 1958, a decree was issued on the universal transition to people's communes, which united agricultural cooperatives. The People's Commune was a self-governing body that had full power not only in the field of economy, but also in the administrative sphere. ¹⁸ Unlike the agrarian reform of 1950, this time the socialization of land also took over the land ownership of mosques.¹⁹

After a relatively quiet period of economic recovery in the early 1960s, the "Great Leap Forward" line was continued in the era of the" cultural Revolution " (1966-1976). The CCP called for the elimination of old ideologies, cultures, customs and habits and "transform ... all areas of the superstructure that do not correspond to the economic basis of socialism ... " ²⁰.

During the "cultural revolution", all external manifestations of religious life in the country disappeared, religious activities were persecuted, religious buildings, paraphernalia and literature were destroyed. National religious associations have completely ceased to function, churches and monasteries across the country have been closed, and religious property has ceased to belong to religious groups. It was occupied for various purposes without any legal grounds.

AFTER THE CULTURAL REVOLUTION

Stage 3. A sharp turn in religious policy occurred after the end of the" cultural Revolution " and the holding of the 3rd Plenum of the CPC Central Committee of the 11th convocation at the end of 1978, at which the topic of religious freedom policy was again raised. Economic reforms and the policy of external openness were accompanied by a gradual revival of all spheres of public life, including religious life. The new leader Deng Xiaoping stressed that religious work for the party is an important issue related to the prospect of opening up China to the West, so it is necessary to appreciate the assistance of religious leaders in establishing ties with foreign countries.²¹

The solution of the issue of religious property was considered the most urgent and difficult, since by that time almost all religious real estate objects throughout the country were occupied and used for various non-religious needs. Their return to religious communities implied the need to find compromises and relocate these organizations to other buildings. In each particular case, the decision to return religious property depended on the local authorities. The situation was complicated by the impossibility of proper legal registration due to the lack of ownership rights to the premises of new organizations and difficulties in finding evidence of previous ownership of buildings by religious communities.

In July 1980, the State Council of the People's Republic of China adopted Regulatory document No. 188: "Report on the Implementation of the Real Estate policy of Religious associations"²². The report contained revolutionary, in fact, provisions:

1) full restoration of the property rights of religious associations to previously owned real estate objects; if it is impossible to return the real estate, religious associations should be paid a sum of money equivalent to its value;

2) refund of rent payments received from the delivery of real estate previously owned by religious associations; at the same time, expenses related to the repair of premises, their maintenance, and payment of taxes should have been withheld;

3) return of Christian temples, Buddhist idols, Taoist temples and other premises occupied by them during the Cultural Revolution to the relevant religious associations. If religious associations did not have a need for certain buildings and premises, then the organizations or individuals who occupied them are obliged to pay them rent; and if the premises are rebuilt or demolished, then the amount equivalent to their value is subject to payment.;

4) return of funds of religious associations frozen during the "cultural revolution" by local financial authorities or appropriated by other organizations.

The document noted that the property of former foreign missions should become the property of Chinese Christian communities. Buddhist and Taoist monasteries and real estate belonging to them became public property (monks have the right to use and rent), ancestral temples of their ancestors-private property, Muslim mosques and buildings belonging to them-the collective property of believers.

In January 1981, a report was published that provided guidance on restoring the ownership rights of Buddhist idols and Taoist monasteries to their former premises.²³ The Supreme People's Court of the People's Republic of China and the State Council's Office of Religious Affairs have ruled that Buddhist and Taoist monasteries and temples can be built with public donations. Monasteries and idols received the status of public property, and when investing in an object of funds by one person, private property could arise. Monasteries came under the control of Buddhist and Taoist organizations, which began to have the right to use without the right to sell, pledge or donate real estate objects.²⁴

According to the provisions of the Law of the People's Republic of China "On the Protection of Cultural Monuments", adopted in November 1982, religious buildings fell under the protection of the state (Article 2). In April 1983, the State Council of the People's Republic of China approved a report submitted by the Office of Religious Affairs, according to which 142 Buddhist and 21 Taoist temples were approved in the Han There are ²⁵ main Buddhist and Taoist places of worship. The country's authorities at the official level recognized the need to open and maintain a significant number of religious sites in the country, by the standards of China at that time.

In 1979-1982, the secretariat of the CPC Central Committee conducted a thorough study of religious issues in the PRC. As a result of this research, on March 31, 1982, the Central Committee issued a directive on religious policy, known as Document No. 19 - "Basic views and basic policy on religious issues in the period of socialism in China". Document No. 19 explained the starting points of the CCP's religious freedom policy at the beginning of the reform period. It contained instructions on opening religious facilities and protecting religious property, which was recognized as an important factor in normalizing religious life.

When it came to restoring religious sites, Document No. 19 gave priority to those that had cultural and historical value. The need to restore them in places of mass residence of believers, especially national minorities, was noted. According to the text of the document, for the construction and restoration of religious facilities, it is necessary to obtain permission from the people's governments.

Thus, in the first half of the 1980s, a number of fundamental documents in the field of religious policy were developed and adopted, which demonstrated a clear departure from the course of the "cultural revolution". As a result, in the 1980s, some significant objects of religious significance were restored and returned to religious communities. ²⁶ Religious communities ' real estate was partially returned. So, for example, by 1986, about 2 thousand Catholic churches were opened throughout the country27, and by the end of 1989, more than 40 thousand Buddhist temples were restored 28. In 1986, the property rights of public, including religious organizations, were enshrined in civil law for the first time in the history of the PRC (Article 77 of the Civil Code China) ²⁹.

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DEVELOPED POLICY

However, the practical implementation of the adopted documents was difficult due to the organizational chaos and documentary confusion, which was a consequence of both the "cultural revolution" and the voluntarism of local officials who arbitrarily interpreted and applied the laws.

After the period of" maximum liberalism " in 1987-1989, the Chinese authorities began to ask more and more questions: what is religion? what are the consequences of its presence in the new socialist society? how to properly regulate this area of social existence?

At this historical stage, many internal political and external factors pushed the state to reduce the freedom of religious groups to a certain extent, and to increase the leading and controlling role of the state in the religious sphere. In the context of internal political instability in some regions of the country, the state sought to keep all aspects of the phenomenon under its control as much as possible.

Stage 4: The beginning of the new decade coincided with increased control over religious groups. In 1991, an internal directive was issued - Document No. 6 "Instructions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on certain issues related to the further implementation of religious work". This document interpreted the content of Document No. 19 in the current new social and political conditions and challenges, and to some extent replaced it. It gave a detailed description of the problems brought by the religious sphere of the party's activities. Much attention was paid to illegal religious groups operating underground outside the framework of religious associations, which the State often saw as extremist activities.

However, the document also notes the problems faced by religious circles: "In implementing the policy of religious freedom, there are many problems associated with encroachment on the right of free religion of citizens, encroachment on the legitimate rights of churches and monasteries, interference in the normal religious activities of religious associations, unresolved issues of returning real estate of churches and monasteries for a long time time"³⁰.

The issue of returning the property of religious communities was again included in the work agenda of officials involved in religious work at all levels, the number of which increased significantly after the document appeared.

On the ground, the property problem of religious communities was solved in different ways. For example, in 1991, the Anhui Provincial Government decided to distribute the financial burden equally between the Provincial Ministry of Finance, the government, and the organization that occupied the premises. ³¹ The process of repossessing religious real estate dragged on for a long time and continued throughout the 1990s.

Stage 5. Since the mid-1990s, legislative regulation of the religious sphere has become an important part of the state's policy. The administrative method of solving religious issues was gradually replaced by the method of legislative regulation.

The first step towards the legislative formalization of state-religious relations was the development and publication by the State Council in 1994 of two landmark documents, including Document No. 145 "Regulations on the regulation of religious objects". Mandatory registration of religious objects was established, which was confirmed and extended annually. Through the registration system, the Government was able to monitor the activities of religious communities in registered properties, their finances, membership, religious education, the selection process of clergy, the publication of religious printed materials, and so on. The document established that the income and property of religious communities can only be managed by a specially formed governing body of the community. No other individuals or organizations could claim to use or dispose of the community's real estate. According to Document No. 145, religious activities carried out outside the approved sites were declared illegal.

Stage 6. Since 2005, the main document regulating the religious sphere in the PRC has been the "Regulation on Religious Activities". Its chapter 5 is entirely devoted to religious property.

Article 30 states that land, buildings, structures, and other property legally owned and used by religious associations and communities are protected by law. Article 31 stipulates that the premises and land used by religious associations must be registered with the Land control departments and real Estate Departments of the People's Governments, and a certificate of ownership or use must be obtained for them. Land control departments, when approving or changing the right of religious associations and communities to use land, should seek the views of the religious affairs departments of the people's Governments.

In accordance with Article 32, premises, buildings and other structures related to the life of religious servants used by religious communities cannot be transferred, mortgaged or used as an investment object. Article 33 regulates the procedure for demolishing buildings in view of urban planning, providing for the possibility of compensation for demolished buildings.

CURRENT PROBLEMS OF OWNERSHIP OF RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS

Currently, registration of a religious object is a multi-stage procedure. It is not easy to pass it, and many communities are forced to conduct religious activities that are considered illegal.

Difficulties are often caused by the reluctance of patriotic religious associations to act as guarantors of newly created communities, since they are required to approve the community's application before transferring it to the religious affairs administration. If a temple, monastery, mosque, etc. becomes part of a religious association, their staff is included in the staff of employees who receive salaries from the state. Buildings are also constructed and maintained with public funds.

The need for state funding for the activities of registered religious sites, which is prescribed in the laws, is one of the reasons for the reluctance to register all interested communities, many of which eventually operate underground. ³² Giving religious sites the status of monuments, which is prescribed in the "Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Cultural Monuments", makes it difficult to use them for religious purposes.

Throughout the entire reform period, the process of returning religious real estate takes place. The greatest difficulties in this matter are created by the cumbersome party-bureaucratic apparatus. Numerous authorities with vague functional responsibilities are involved in the sphere of religious policy, and the resolution of religious property issues also affects the bodies responsible for cultural monuments, tourism, real estate, urban planning, etc.

One of the main problems of regulating religious real estate is the abundance of forms of ownership: property of religious associations, communities, public property, state property, collective property, private property ³³.

Declaring religious real estate as public property makes it in fact a draw, since there is no legal relationship between an undefined group of people and the property belonging to it. The community of believers is not a formal collective, so the subject of ownership is not defined in the collective form of ownership. State ownership of religious objects contradicts the declared principle of separation of state and religion, moreover, it requires a certain responsibility for it on the part of the relevant state bodies: to maintain buildings and premises in proper condition, finance their maintenance, etc. Property belonging to religious associations may violate the will of people who made donations to specific monasteries or churches. Moreover, religious associations are hierarchical, geographically separated organizations.

In fact, religious objects are registered with local religious organizations, state agencies that manage real estate, cultural institutions, and even monks and private individuals. In addition, many religious sites are unregistered, especially in remote rural areas.

* * *

The issue of religious property in China is quite sensitive, and the policies and methods applied in practice are very chaotic - there is a lack of legal measures to protect this type of property.³⁴

There are also contradictions in the ownership of religious real estate objects. Representatives of state agencies believe that funds for the construction of churches and monasteries were allocated mainly by the state, so the property right should remain with it. Monks and religious leaders, on the contrary, believe that church property was formed by the work of monks and donations of believers.

Thus, the main parameter for determining the ownership of religious real estate in China is the source of funds used to build buildings and structures and purchase land. Obviously, this principle of determining the form of ownership is far from perfect. Funds, regardless of their source of origin, are most often presented as donations. This is an act of goodwill, not a contribution to shared ownership. The number of donors can be unlimited, often indefinite. Donors could also be foreigners or foreign organizations.

Perhaps the best solution to the problem would be to assign ownership rights over real estate for religious purposes to specific religious communities registered as public organizations.

There is legal uncertainty in determining the right to immovable property of religious organizations. Despite the fact that the "Real Law of the People's Republic of China" came into force in October 2007, it did not clarify this problem. However, the adoption of this law demonstrates a progressive movement towards the development of civil legislation in China, which gives hope for understanding the existing problems and gradually resolving the issue of determining the rights to real estate of religious organizations.

Over the past decades, the Chinese authorities have rethought and radically changed their attitude to the existence of religion in a socialist society. Throughout the history of the People's Republic of China, the CCP's religious policy has undergone major changes that reflect changes in the attitude of the authorities towards religion. These changes are clearly demonstrated by the situation with religious real estate at various stages of the CCP's policy development.

^{Yue Congxin.} 1 Tudi gaige: Chanchu fengjian genji de shenke biange (Land Reform: Deep Transformations to eliminate the feudal basis) / / Huanqiu shiye. 2001. N 1.

² Zhonghua renmin gongheguo tudi gaige fa (Land Reform Law of the People's Republic of China)- http://baike.baidu.com/view/149912.htm

^{Gorbunova S. A.} 3 China: religion and power. History of Chinese Buddhism in the context of Society and the State, Moscow, FORUM Publishing House, 2008, p. 127. (Gorbunova S. A. Kitai: religiya i vlast. Istoriya kitaiskogo buddizma v kontekste obshestva i gosudarstva. M., 2008) (in Russian)

⁴ Ibid.

5 Islam v obshesnvenno-politicheskoy zhizni KNR. M., 2002, p. 61 (in Russian)

⁶ Directive of the CPC Central Committee dated 05.03.1951 "Guanyu jiji tuijin zongjiao gexin yundong de zhishi "(Guidelines for the Movement for the Active Promotion of Religious Renewal) - http://cpc.people.com.cn/GB/64184/64186/66656/4492730.html

^{Leung B.} 7 China's Religious Freedom Policy: The Art of Managing Religious Activity // The China Quarterly. Cambridge, 2005. N 184, p. 894-913.

^{Luo Weihong.} 8 Zhongguo jidujiao (Protestantism in China). Beijing. 2004, pp. 65-69.

^{Leung B.} 9 Op. cit.

^{Zhang Fuqi, Wu Dongping, Shao Guang, Zhang Ruidong, Minjun.} 10 Guanyu zongjiao fangchan wenti de sikao he jianyi (Reflections and suggestions on the issue of religious real estate) 28.08.2009 - http://blog.boxun.com/hero/200910/lawsandregulations/2_1.shtml

¹¹ 1988-1993 nian Anhuisheng zongjiao gongzuo jilve (Summary of religious work in Anhui Province in 1988-1993) / / Minzu zongjiao zhi. Beijing. 1997.

^{Lam Anthony S. K.} 12 The Catholic church in present-day China. Through darkness and light. Hongkong, The Holy Spirit Study Centre. 1997, p. 18.

¹³ Ibidem.

^{Sun Xianzhong.} 14 Caituan faren caichan suoyouquan he zhongjiao caichan guishu wenti (Issues of the right to real estate of legal entities and belonging to religious property) / / Zhongguo Faxue. 1991. N 5.

¹⁵ Ibid.

^{Leung B.} 16 Religion and Society in Mainland China in the 1990s. Issues and Studies, 1994, N 30, p. 52-68.

^{Leung B.} 17 China's Religious Freedom Policy...

^{Shapinov V.} 18 The Big Leap and people's communes http://library.maoism.ru/Shaping/Great_leap_forward.htm

^{Kuznetsov V. S.} 19 Decree. op.

²⁰ Resolution of the CPC Central Committee on the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. Beijing: Publishing House of Literature in Foreign Languages, 1966.

^{Shi Xi.} 21 Zhonggong shiyijie san zhong quanhui de zhaokai, Deng Xiaoping guanyu "Xin shiqi de tongyi zhanxian he renmin zhengxie de renwu" jianghua de fabiao (Opening of the 3rd Plenum of the 11th CPC Central Committee, speech by Deng Xiaoping "On the tasks of the United Front and the CPPCC in the New Period") - http://cpc.people.com.cn/GB/64107/65708/65722/4444612.html

²² Guanyu luoshi zongjiao tuanti fangchan zhengce deng wenti de baogao (References to the Movement for Active Promotion of Religious Renewal) - http://www.bjethnic.gov.cn/zcfg/Policy Detail.asp?id=7500&pos=45

²³ Guanyu simiao, daoguan deng fangwu chanquan guishu wenti de qingshi baogao (Report on property ownership issues of Buddhist idols and Taoist monasteries) - http://news.9ask.cn/fagui/minfa/201004/467342.html

²⁴ Guanyu simiao, daoguan fangwu chanquan guishu wenti de fuhan (Letter on property ownership issues of Buddhist idols and Taoist monasteries) - http://cpc.people.com.cn/GB/64184/64186/66704/4495677.html

²⁵ Guanyu queding hanzu diqu fodaojiao quanguo zhongdian siguan de baogao (Report on the identification of major Buddhist idols and Taoist monasteries in Han Chinese areas) http://www.hzfj.org/thread-95712-1-2.html

^{Lam A.} 26 The Catholic church in present-day China. Through darkness and light. Hongkong. 1997, p. 59.

^{He Guanglu.} 27 Zongjiao yu dangdai zhongguo shehui (Religions and Modern Chinese Society). Beijing, 2006.

^{Sheng Hui.} 28 Zhongguo fojiao xiehui wushi nian (Fiftieth Anniversary of the Chinese Buddhist Association) / / Fain. 2003. N 10.

²⁹ Zhonghua renmin gongheguo minfa tongze (Civil Code of the People's Republic of China) - http://www.china.com.cn/policy/txt/2012-01/14/content_244 05953.htm

³⁰ Guanyu jinyibu zuo hao zongjiao gongzuo de ruogan wenti de tongzhi (Instructions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on certain issues related to further religious work) - http://xz.people.com.cn/GB/138902/139221/139277/8411633.html

³¹ 1988-1993 nian Anhuisheng ...

^{Homer L. B.} 32 Registration of Chinese Protestant Churches under China's 2005 Regulations on religious Affairs: Resolving the Implementation Impasse. Oxford, 2010.

^{Ma Hui, Xue Yan.} 33 Zhongguo zongjiao caichan guishu wenti tantao (Study of the problem of belonging to religious real estate in China) / / Wuhan, Wuhan Ligong Daxue Xuebao. 2007. Vol. 20, N 4.

^{Sun Xianzhong.} 34 Op. cit.

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