Communist China is officially atheistic. According to recent studies, however, 70% of the population adheres to Chinese folk religion, including forms of Buddhism and Taoism. Around 25% are actually atheists. Christians comprise 2.5% and Muslims 1.6%.
“China, State Imams Told They Should Preach the Message of the Third CCP Plenum,” by Ma Wenyan, Bitter Winter, August 21, 2024:
It looked like July’s Third Plenum of the 20th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) did not pay much attention to religion. However, religions are now told that they should pay attention to the Third Plenum. A campaign telling Muslim state-controlled imams that they should preach about the Third Plenum is being promoted by the China Islamic Association. The official launch of the campaign was on July 22 when Yang Faming, the leader of the China Islamic Association, conducted a session to discuss and adopt the principles set forth by the Third Plenum. The study of the Plenum document was guided by China Islamic Association’s Vice President and Secretary General Ma Zhongping. All national officials of the China Islamic Association were present at the event, whose statements are now being disseminated to Muslim places of worship throughout the country. The meeting highlighted the imperative that Muslim teaching should be guided by Xi Jinping’s Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. It called for intense engagement with “Xi Jinping’s crucial perspectives on religious affairs” and a renewed vow that Muslims should follow and obey “unconditionally” the CCP and its Central Committee. The attendees were asked to reaffirm their “commitment to maintaining the trajectory of incorporating Islam into Chinese culture and fostering a unified sense of identity within the Chinese nation.”…
