Путь и его пути: краткий путеводитель по религиям Китая

Государство, религия, церковь в России и за рубежом. 2022. № 40(2). С. 14–40.

Maliavin V.

In China there was an original system of religious beliefs and practices, which was based on the principle of continuity, cooperation, "consensual unity" of gods and people. The inhabitants of mundane and spiritual worldls worlds were one whole and were connected as blood relatives by intimate and even mutually binding relations. The purpose of religious cults was to give people well-being ("happiness") already in earthly life. A system of religious syncretism emerged on this basis, in which certain religions served as metaphors for one another. The stability of this system was ensured by the special hierarchy of cults, both in their form and their political significance. This hierarchy did not eliminate the opposition between official and "obscene" cults, which reflected the traditional typology of cultural forms. The emergence of foreign religions - Buddhism, later Islam, and in modern times Christianity - did not shake the foundations of traditional syncretism and in many respects even strengthened them. However, the trend toward secularization and interiorization of religious ideals in China eventually led to an acute confrontation between the new secular religions and the state authorities. The current position of religions in China has not changed fundamentally. Religions must serve the state, representing a universal moral order.

Keywords: религиозный синкретизм, moral religion, моральная религия, religious syncretism, typology of cults, secularization of religions, типология культов, секуляризация религий