Religious education improved in China: White paper

BEIJING -- The religious education system has been further improved in China, according to a white paper released Tuesday.

The white paper, titled "China's Policies and Practices on Protecting Freedom of Religious Belief," was issued by the State Council Information Office.

As of September 2017, there were 91 religious schools in China whose establishment was approved by the State Administration of Religious Affairs (SARA), including 41 Buddhist, 10 Taoist, 10 Islamic, 9 Catholic and 21 Protestant schools, it said.

There are six national level religious colleges, namely, the Buddhist Academy of China, High-level Tibetan Buddhism College of China, Chinese Taoist College, China Islamic Institute, National Seminary of the Catholic Church in China, and Nanjing Union Theological Seminary, the document noted.

At present, more than 10,000 students study in these religious schools whose graduates total more than 47,000.

Religious texts and literature are published as prescribed by the law, according to the white paper.

The printing, publication and circulation of religious text, in different languages and editions, and printed works, audio-visual products and e-books that record, explain and/or annotate religious doctrines and canons, have met the diverse demands of citizens with religious beliefs from the various ethnic groups, it said.

Several large collections of religious classics, including the Chinese Buddhist Canon, the Chinese Taoist Canon and A Collection of Editions and Commentaries for the Laozi, have been compiled and published, the document said.

Traditional sutra printing houses in Tibetan Buddhist temples have been well preserved and developed. There are now 60 such sutra printing houses, including the one in the Potala Palace, that can print 63,000 different sutras every year, it noted.

Islamic classics, such as the Koran, have been translated and published in Chinese, Uygur, Kazakh, and Kyrgyz languages. The publication and circulation of the New Collection of Al-Wa'z Speeches series and other reading materials and magazines have exceeded 1.76 million copies, the document said.

China has printed over 160 million copies of the Bible in more than 100 different languages for over 100 countries and regions, including 80 million copies printed in the Chinese language, 11 ethnic minority languages and braille for churches in China, it said.