Guozongfa [2012] No. 41
In China, Buddhism and Taoism have long histories, many believers, and wide influence. Since the reform and opening up, and especially since the State Council promulgated the Regulations on Religious Affairs in 2004, through the campaign to build harmonious monasteries, temples, mosques, and churches, the accreditation and filing of religious clergy, and the financial supervision and management of venues for religious activities, the great majority of Buddhist monasteries and Taoist temples (hereinafter “monasteries and temples”) have been managed in a standardized way, with upright religious conduct and an atmosphere of solemnity, clarity and stillness. However, driven by economic interests, some localities have engaged in “religion setting the stage for the economy to perform,” and certain abnormal phenomena have appeared. These are mainly as follows: some localities, enterprises, and individuals, on the pretext of promoting traditional culture and local economic development, invest in building new monasteries and temples or contract them, amassing wealth in the name of religion; some venues that are not venues for religious activities hire fake monks and fake Taoist priests to carry out religious activities illegally, set up merit boxes in violation of the rules, collect religious donations, and even coerce or entice believers and tourists, swindling them of money and profiting from religion; and some lawfully registered monasteries and temples, especially those in scenic areas, have been invested in and run as businesses, or listed on the stock market as enterprise assets, or there are practices of forcing or inducing tourists and believers to pay exorbitant prices to burn “high incense” or to draw lots and have divinations performed. These phenomena seriously violate the Party’s religious policy and national laws and regulations, disrupt the normal order of religious activities, harm the rights, interests, and image of the religious community, hurt the feelings of believers, harm the lawful rights and interests of tourists, have a very bad social impact, and have aroused strong concern from all sectors of society. In order to stop and correct the above phenomena and to manage monasteries and temples in accordance with law and regulations and in a scientific and orderly way, notice is hereby given on the relevant matters as follows:
1. The Regulations on Religious Affairs shall be conscientiously implemented, and the unauthorized building of monasteries and temples and all forms of amassing wealth in the name of religion shall be resolutely stopped. Monasteries and temples shall be managed by the Buddhist and Taoist communities according to the principle of democratic management, under the administration of the government religious affairs departments and under the guidance and supervision of the relevant local government departments; no unit or individual may interfere in their internal religious affairs. Party and government departments are strictly prohibited from participating in, conniving at, or supporting investment in, operation of, or contracted operation of monasteries and temples by enterprises and individuals, and monasteries and temples may not in any way be turned into “joint-stock systems,” “Sino-foreign joint ventures,” “leasing and contracting,” “dividend and commission sharing,” and the like. Party and government cadres who participate in or support such activities shall be dealt with severely under Party and administrative discipline.
2. The government religious affairs departments shall carry out a comprehensive inspection of lawfully registered monasteries and temples, conduct a special rectification campaign, resolutely correct the phenomenon of monasteries and temples “being contracted out,” require rectification within a set time limit, and hand back to the monasteries and temples those affairs that by law should be managed by them; where rectification is inadequate, their registration as venues for religious activities shall be revoked and they may not carry out religious activities. Venues for religious activities may not be listed on the stock market as enterprise assets. Government religious affairs departments at all levels shall conduct inspections; where such problems are found, rectification shall be required within a set time limit, and where rectification is not carried out within that time, penalties shall be imposed together with the relevant departments in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations.
3. Apart from venues for religious activities lawfully registered with the government religious affairs departments, no other venues may organize or hold religious activities or accept religious donations. With regard to the amassing of wealth in the name of religion—such as the setting up of merit boxes, the acceptance of religious donations, and the carrying out of religious activities at venues that are not venues for religious activities—the government religious affairs departments shall, together with the departments of public security, housing and urban-rural development, culture, industry and commerce, tourism, and cultural heritage, resolutely investigate and deal with such conduct in accordance with the provisions of relevant laws and regulations, and issue public notices as appropriate; where a crime is constituted, the case shall be transferred to the judicial authorities to be handled according to law. The State Administration for Religious Affairs will publicly announce the lawfully registered monasteries and temples, to help believers distinguish between venues for religious activities and other venues and to guide believers to take part in religious activities at lawfully registered monasteries and temples. The managers and users of immovable cultural relics that have lawfully been designated as venues for religious activities shall fulfill their responsibilities for protection, repair, safety, and so on in accordance with law. Immovable cultural relics may not be designated as venues for religious activities without approval in accordance with law.
4. Religious clergy must be accredited by religious bodies and filed with the religious affairs department of the government at or above the county level. Government religious affairs departments shall strengthen the management of religious clergy and guide clergy toward right belief and right conduct. Religious clergy shall guide believers to offer incense in a civilized manner and may not use any means to swindle pilgrims or tourists out of money; they shall conduct religious activities properly and according to ritual in accordance with religious rules, and may not carry out religious activities at venues that are not venues for religious activities. Where someone repeatedly fails to mend their ways despite education, it shall be proposed that the relevant religious body revoke their status as religious clergy, take back their clergy certificate, and report to the government religious affairs department with which they were originally filed to cancel the filing.
5. Where anyone impersonates religious clergy to carry out religious activities, the government religious affairs department shall order the activities to cease and confiscate any illegal gains; where there is conduct violating public security administration, the public security department shall impose public security administrative penalties according to law; where a crime is constituted, criminal liability shall be pursued according to law. On the basis of completing the accreditation and filing of religious clergy, the State Administration for Religious Affairs will establish an online system for looking up basic information on religious clergy, to help identify and crack down on impostors.
6. The departments of religious affairs, tourism, cultural heritage, and others shall continue to conscientiously implement the Opinions on Further Regulating Incense-Burning at Religious and Tourist Sites Nationwide (Lüfa [2009] No. 30) and the Notice on Implementing Three National Standards Including “General Technical Requirements for the Safety of Incense Products” (Guobiaowei Fuwulian [2011] No. 58), rectify the practice of forcing or inducing tourists and believers to pay exorbitant prices to burn “high incense,” advocate civilized incense offering, and improve the environment of monasteries and temples. Tourism enterprises and tour guides are strictly prohibited from inducing tourists and believers, in any name or on any pretext, to burn “high incense” or to draw lots and have divinations performed.
7. The government religious affairs departments shall perform their management functions over venues for religious activities within scenic areas according to law. New construction, expansion, and reconstruction of venues for religious activities within scenic areas shall all be managed strictly in accordance with the Cultural Relics Protection Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Regulations on Religious Affairs, and the Regulations on Scenic and Historic Areas; the competent departments for scenic areas shall, together with the departments of religious affairs, landscaping, cultural heritage, and others, investigate and deal with illegal construction.
State Administration for Religious Affairs
United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee
Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development