Prospects for Covenantal Pluralism in the People's Republic of China: A Reflection on State Policy and Muslim Minorities

Abstract

By focusing on the Chinese state's shifting policies toward Islam and its Muslim minorities, this article considers the possibilities of implementing covenantal pluralism in contemporary China. While the current socio-political conditions in China hold little promise for the realization of covenantal pluralism, there are important social and cultural sources that may be leveraged to reorient the state policy toward a more pluralistic future. This article suggests that to put down roots in China and elsewhere, covenantal pluralism must acknowledge and address the political and economic hierarchy in the world system, which are unlikely to relinquish in the foreseeable future.

Keywords:

• Covenantal pluralism
• religious diversity
• harmony
• Islam in China
• Belt and Road Initiative

Acknowledgements

This article is part of this journal's Covenantal Pluralism Series, a project generously supported via a grant to the Institute for Global Engagement from the Templeton Religion Trust.

Notes

1 For examples of media reports on religious persecution in China, see Haas (2018); Myers (2019).

2 The English translations of Religious Affairs Regulations 2017 are available at http://www.sara.gov.cn/flfg/330350.jhtml and https://www.chinalawtranslate.com/en/religious-affairs-regulations-2017/

3 For Religious restrictions index scores by region see https://www.pewforum.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2020/11/PF_20.10.28_Restrictions11_appendixC.pdf

4 For more details on the measurements of Social Hostilities Index (SHI), see https://www.pewforum.org/2009/12/17/social-hostilities-index-shi/

5 Shadian is a predominately Muslim town of Yunnan province in southwestern China. For more on the Shadian Incident, see Dru Gladney (1996, 137–140) and Raphael Israeli (2002, 264–270).

6 Nationality is registered at the time of birth. According to the rules issued by the National Ethnic Affairs Commission, in most cases, only children of intermarried couples can apply to change their nationality status after they reach the age of 18. There is no clause regarding the change of nationality status due to religious conversion. Based on anecdotes, some Han converts through marriage have been able to change their nationality status from Han to Hui.

7 The Chinese version of the 2017 Religious Affairs Regulations is available at http://www.gov.cn/zhengce/content/2017-09/07/content_5223282.htm

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Yuting Wang

Yuting Wang is Associate Professor of Sociology at the American University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. She has held multiple visiting positions, including at Northwestern University, Purdue University, University of California-Berkeley, and London School of Economics and Political Science. She has published widely on immigrant religions, Islam and Muslim minorities in China, social changes in the Arabian Gulf, and Sino-UAE relations in the era of Belt and Road.