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Chinese salvationist religions or Chinese folk religious sects are a Chinese religious tradition characterised by a concern for
salvation Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...
(moral fulfillment) of the person and the society.; ''passim'' They are distinguished by egalitarianism, a founding charismatic person often informed by a divine revelation, a specific
theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...
written in holy texts, a millenarian
eschatology Eschatology (; ) concerns expectations of the end of the present age, human history, or of the world itself. The end of the world or end times is predicted by several world religions (both Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic), which teach that neg ...
and a voluntary path of salvation, an embodied experience of the numinous through healing and self-cultivation, and an expansive orientation through evangelism and
philanthropy Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...
. Some scholars consider these religions a single phenomenon, and others consider them the fourth great Chinese religious category alongside the well-established
Confucianism Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...
,
Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
and
Taoism Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Ta ...
. Generally these religions focus on the worship of the universal
God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
( Shangdi), represented as either male, female, or genderless, and regard their holy patriarchs as embodiments of God.


Terminology and definition

"Chinese salvationist religions" ( ''jiùdù zōngjiào'') is a contemporary neologism coined as a sociological category and gives prominence to folk religious sects' central pursuit that is the
salvation Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...
of the individual and the society, in other words the moral fulfillment of individuals in reconstructed communities of sense. Chinese scholars traditionally describe them as "folk religious sects" ( ''mínjiān zōngjiào'', ''mínjiān jiàomén'' or ''mínjiān jiàopài'') or "folk beliefs" ( ''mínjiān xìnyǎng''). They are distinct from the common indigenous religion of the Han Chinese consisting in the worship of gods and ancestors, although in English language there is a terminological confusion between the two. The 20th-century expression of these folk religious movements has been studied under the definition of "redemptive societies" ( ''jiùshì tuántǐ''), coined by scholar Prasenjit Duara. A collective name that has been in use possibly since the late Qing dynasty is ''huìdàomén'' ( "churches, ways and gates"), as their names interchangeably use the terms ''huì'' ( "church", "society", "association", "congregation"; when referring to their corporate form), ''dào'' ( "way") or ''mén'' ( "gate ay, "door"). Their congregations and points of worship are usually called ''táng'' ( "church", "hall") or ''tán'' ( "altar"). Western scholars often mistakenly identify them as "
Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
" churches. The
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...
ese religions of '' Minh Đạo'' and
Caodaism Caodaism ( vi, Đạo Cao Đài, Chữ Hán: ) is a monotheistic syncretic new religious movement officially established in the city of Tây Ninh in southern Vietnam in 1926. The full name of the religion is (The Great Faith or theThird Unive ...
emerged from the same tradition of Chinese folk religious movements.


Secret religions

A category overlapping with that of the movements of salvation is that of the "secret societies" ( ''mìmì shèhuì'', or ''mìmì jiéshè''), religious communities of initiatory and secretive character, including rural militias and fraternal organisations which became very popular in the early republican period, and often labeled as "
heretical Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...
doctrines" ( ''zōngjiào yìduān''). Recent scholarship has begun to use the label "secret sects" ( ''mìmì jiàomén'') to distinguish the peasant "secret societies" with a positive dimension of the Yuan, Ming and Qing periods, from the negatively viewed "secret societies" of the early republic that became instruments of anti-revolutionary forces (the Guomindang or Japan).


Origin and history

Many of these religions are traced to the White Lotus tradition ("Chinese Maternism", as mentioned by Philip Clart) that was already active in the
Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the res ...
; others claim a Taoist legacy and are based on the recovery of ancient scriptures attributed to important immortals such as Lü Dongbin and Zhang Sanfeng, and have contributed to the popularisation of '' neidan''; other ones are distinctively
Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...
and advocate the realisation of a "great commonwealth" (''datong'' ) on a world scale, as dreamt of in the Book of Rites. Some scholars even find influences from
Manichaeism Manichaeism (; in New Persian ; ) is a former major religionR. van den Broek, Wouter J. Hanegraaff ''Gnosis and Hermeticism from Antiquity to Modern Times''SUNY Press, 1998 p. 37 founded in the 3rd century AD by the Parthian prophet Mani ( ...
, Mohism and shamanic traditions. In the Ming and Qing dynasties many folk religious movements were outlawed by the imperial authorities as "evil religions" ( ''xiéjiào''). With the collapse of the Qing state in 1911 the sects enjoyed an unprecedented period of freedom and thrived, and many of them were officially recognised as religious groups by the early republican government. The founding of the People's Republic in 1949 saw them suppressed once again, although since the 1990s and 2000s the climate was relaxed and some of them have received some form of official recognition. In
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northe ...
all the still existing restrictions were rescinded in the 1980s. Folk religious movements began to rapidly revive in mainland China in the 1980s, and now if conceptualised as a single group they are said to have the same number of followers of the five state-sanctioned religions of China taken together. Scholars and government officials have been discussing to systematise and unify this large base of religious organisations; in 2004 the State Administration of Religious Affairs created a department for the management of folk religions. In the late 2015 a step was made at least for those of them with a Confucian identity, with the foundation of the Holy Confucian Church of China which aims to unite in a single body all Confucian religious groups. Many of the movements of salvation of the 20th and 21st century aspire to become the repository of the entirety of the Chinese tradition in the face of Western modernism and materialism, advocating an "Eastern solution to the problems of the modern world", or even interacting with the modern discourse of an
Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an ...
n-centered universal civilisation.


Geography and diffusion

The Chinese folk religious movements of salvation are mostly concentrated in northern and northeastern China, although with a significant influence reaching the Yangtze River Delta since the 16th century. The northern provinces have been a fertile ground for the movements of salvation for a number of reasons: ① firstly, popular religious movements were active in the region already in the
Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by th ...
, and they deeply penetrated local society; ② secondly, northern provinces are characterised by social mobility around the capital and weak traditional social structure, thus folk religious movements of salvation fulfill the demand of individual searching for new forms of community and social network. According to the Chinese General Social Survey of 2012, approximately 2.2% of the population of China, which is around 30 million people, claim to be members of folk religious sects. The actual number of followers may be higher, about the same as the number of members of the five state-sanctioned religions of China if counted together. In Taiwan, recognised folk religious movements of salvation gather approximately 10% of the population as of the mid-2000s.


Chronological record of major sects


Earliest influences ( Yuan, 1277–1377)

* White Lotus ( ''Báiliánjiào'') * Maitreya teachings ( ''Mílèjiào'')


Ming (1367–1644) and Qing (1644–1911)

* Baguadao ( "Way of the Eight Trigrams") networks * Denghua ( "Flower of Light") sect * Hongyang ( "Great Sun") or Hunyuan ( "Original Undetermined") sect *
Huangtiandao Huangtiandao (黃天道 "Way of the Yellow Sky / Heaven", also written with the homophonous characters 皇天道 "Way of the Kingly Sky"), also known as Huangtianism (黄天教 ''Huángtiān jiào'') or Xuanguism (悬鼓教 ''Xuángǔ jiào'', "Dar ...
( "Way of the Yellow Sky") or Xuangu ( "Dark Drum") sect * Luo teaching ( ''Luójiào'', "Luo (Menghong)'s tradition"): Patriarch Luo was reportedly polemical towards the Bailian, Maitreyan, and Huangtian sects ** Dacheng ( "Great Vehicle") or Yuandun ( "Sudden Stillness") sect, the eastern branch of Luoism *** Sects requiring fasting ( ''zhāijiāo''), including
Xiantiandao The Xiantiandao (, or "Way of the Primordial"; Vietnamese language, Vietnamese: ', Japanese language, Japanese: '), also simply Tiandao (; Vietnamese: ', Japanese: ') is one of the most productive currents of Chinese folk religious sects such as t ...
dubbed the Qinglian ( "Black lue, or GreenLotus") sect during the Qing ****
Mohou Yizhu Yiguandao / I-Kuan Tao (),; ko, 일관도, Ilgwando; th, อนุตตรธรรม, . meaning the Consistent Way or Persistent Way, is a Chinese salvationist religious sect that emerged in the late 19th century, in Shandong, to become C ...
( "Final Salvation") sect founded by Wang Jueyi in the 1870s, renamed Yiguandao in 1905 **
Dacheng teaching of Mount Jizu Dacheng teaching of Mount Jizu (鸡足山大乘教 ''Jīzú shān dàchéng jiào'', "Great Vehicle teaching of Mount Jizu"), is a Chinese folk religious sect, a branch of Luoism in western China established by Zhang Baotai (張保太) in the lat ...
( ''Jīzúshān dàchéngjiào''), a western branch of Luoism founded by Zhang Baotai in
Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the ...
* Church of the Highest Supreme ( ''Tàishànghuì'') *
Church of the Heaven and the Earth The Tiandihui, the Heaven and Earth Society, also called Hongmen (the Vast Family), is a Chinese fraternal organization and historically a secretive folk religious sect in the vein of the Ming loyalist White Lotus Sect, the Tiandihui's a ...
( ''Tiāndìhuì'') or Tiandimen ( "Gate of the Heaven and the Earth") * Sanyi teaching ( "Three-One"), founded by Li Zhao'en on the base of Confucian principles


Republic of China (1912–49)

* Zaili teaching ( ''Zàilǐjiào'', "Abiding Principle")—registered in 1913 * Daode Xueshe ( "Community for the Study of the Way and its Virtue")—1916 *
Xiantiandao The Xiantiandao (, or "Way of the Primordial"; Vietnamese language, Vietnamese: ', Japanese language, Japanese: '), also simply Tiandao (; Vietnamese: ', Japanese: ') is one of the most productive currents of Chinese folk religious sects such as t ...
( "Way of the Former Heaven") networks ** Shengdao ( "Holy Way"), best known by its incorporate name of Tongshanshe ( "Community of the Goodness")—1917 **
Guiyidao Guiyidao (皈依道, "Way of the Return to the One"), better known as Precosmic Salvationism (先天救教 ''Xiāntiān jiùjiào''; or "Former Heaven Salvationism") in contemporary Taiwan, and historically also known by the name of its institu ...
(, "Way of the Return to the One"), best known by its corporate name of School of the Way of the Return to the One or simply School of the Way ( ''Dàoyuàn'')—1921-27 **
Yiguandao Yiguandao / I-Kuan Tao (),; ko, 일관도, Ilgwando; th, อนุตตรธรรม, . meaning the Consistent Way or Persistent Way, is a Chinese salvationist religious sect that emerged in the late 19th century, in Shandong, to become ...
( "Consistent Way")—registered in 1947 ***
Haizidao Haizidao () is a new religious movement in Taiwan, based on Taoism Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of Philosophy, philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas ...
( "Way of the Children")—branched out in the 1980s *** Miledadao ( "Great Way of Maitreya")—branched out in the 1980s **
Dragon Flower Church of the Heart-bound Heavenly Way The Holy Dragon Flower Church of the Heart-bound Heavenly Way (一心天道龙华圣教会 ''Yīxīn tiāndào lónghuá shèng jiàohuì''), also known simply as Yixin Tiandao (一心天道 "Heart-bound Heavenly Way"), Yizhendao (一真道 "Way of ...
( ''Yīxīn Tiāndào Lónghuá Huì'')—1932 ** Yuanmingdao ( "Way of the Bright Circle") **
Yaochidao Yaochidao (瑤池道 "Way of the Mother-of-Pearl Lake"), also known by the name of its corporate form the Holy Church of the Mother-of-Pearl Lake, Taiwan Yauchi Holy Church (台灣瑤池聖教會) or by the older name of Cihuitang (慈惠堂 "Churc ...
( "Way of the Jasper Lake") ** Guigendao ( "Way of the Return to the Root") * Jiushi ( "Life Healing") sect, also known by its corporate name Wushanshe ( "Community of the Awakening to the Goodness")—1919 *
Universal Church of the Way and its Virtue Shanrendao ( zh, c=善人道, p=Shànréndào, l=Way of the Virtuous Man) is a Confucian-Taoist religious movement in northeast China. Its name as a social body is the Universal Church of the Way and its Virtue ( zh, s=万国道德会, p=Wàngu ...
( ''Wànguó Dàodéhuì'')—1921 * Jiugongdao (, "Way of the Nine Palaces")—1926 *
Holy Church of the Heavenly Virtue Tiandiism is a group of Chinese salvationist religions, Chinese salvationist sects, namely the Holy Church of the Heavenly Virtue and the Lord of Universe Church, which emerged respectively from the teachings of Xiao Changming and Li Yujie, dissem ...
( ''Tiāndé shèngjiào'')—early form of Tiandiism, recognised in 1930 * Church of Virtue ( ''Déjiàohuì'')—started in 1945 *
Zhenkongdao Luodao (罗道 "Way of Luo") or Luoism (罗教), originally Wuweiism (无为教), refers to a Chinese folk religious tradition, a wide range of sect organisations flourishing over the last five hundred years, which trace their origins back to the ...
( "Way of the True Emptiness")—1948 * Confucian Church ( ''Kǒngjiàohuì'')—founded by Kang Youwei * Xixinshe ( "Community of the Pure Heart")—another organisation of Kang Youwei's idea of a Confucian church * Yellow Sand Society—rural secret society and millenarian sect


Late 20th century

*
Xuanyuandao Xuanyuandao (軒轅道 "Way of Xuanyuan"), also known as Xuanyuanism (軒轅教) or Huangdiism (黄帝教), is a Confucian folk religion of China which was founded in Taipei, Taiwan, in 1952.Goossaert, Palmer. 2011. p. 295 The founder was Wan ...
( "Way of the Mysterious Origin")—founded in 1952 * Confucian Way of the Gods ( ''Rúzōng Shénjiào'')—started in 1853, formally established in 1979 * Lord of Universe Church ( ''Tiāndìjiào'')—branch of Tiandiism established in 1979 * Qigong ( "Cultivation of the Spirit") **
Falungong Falun Gong (, ) or Falun Dafa (; literally, "Dharma Wheel Practice" or "Law Wheel Practice") is a new religious movement.Junker, Andrew. 2019. ''Becoming Activists in Global China: Social Movements in the Chinese Diaspora'', pp. 23–24, 33, 119 ...
( "Cultivation of the Wheel of Law") * Zishen Nation () — led by the self-proclaimed emperor
Li Guangchang Li Guangchang (, ), also known as Zheng Min (), was a self-declared Chinese emperor and leader of a salvationist sect. He actually ruled a small territory in Cangnan County, called the "Zishen Nation" (), from 1981 to 1986 in ''de facto'' inde ...
, the sect ruled a small area in
Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by ...
from 1981 to 1986


21st century

*
Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...
religious groups in China mainland ( Confucian churches) * Weixinism ( ''Wéixīnjiào'', "Only Heart") or "Holy Church of the Heart-Only" ( ''Wéixīn Shèngjiào'')


Other sects

* Changshandao * Church of Maitreya the King of the Universe ( ''Yǔzhòu mílè huáng jiào'') * Dadao Hui ( "Church of the Big Sword") * Datong Hui ( "Church of the Great Harmony") * Dayiism ( ''Dàyì jiào'', "Great Simplicity") * Dongyue Hui * Gengshen Hui * Guixiangdao ( "Way of the Kneeling to Incense") * Holy Church of the Middle Flower ( ''Zhōnghuá shèngjiào'') * Hongsanism ( ''Hóngsān jiào'', "Red Three") *
Huangjidao Huangjidao (皇极道 "Way of the Imperial Pole" or "Imperial Ultimate") or Huangjiism (皇极教 ''Huáng jí jiào'') is a Chinese folk religious sect that as of the 1980s was a proscribed religion in China as testified by the arrest of various ...
( "Way of the Imperial Pole") * Huangxiandao ( "Way of the Yellow Immortal") * Huazhaidao ( "Way of Flowers and Fasting") * Jiugendao ( "Way of the Old Source") * Laojundao ( "Way of the Venerable Master") * Laorendao ( "Way of the Venerable Men") * Mount Li Maternism ( ''Líshān Lǎomǔ jiào'') * Puhuamen ( "Gate of the Universal Change") * Pujidao ( "Way of the Universal Help") * Puduism ( ''Pǔdù jiào'', "Universal Judgement"), Pududao ( "Way of the Universal Judgment") * Qixingism * Qiugongdao * Renxuehaodao ( "Way of Men Learning the Goodness") * Sanfengdao ( "Way of the Three Peaks") * Shengxiandao ( "Way of the Sages and the Immortals") * Shenmendao ( "Way of the Godly Gate") * Sifangdao ( "Way of the Four Manifestations") * Suibiandao *
Tianguangdao Tianguangdao (天光道 "Way of the Heavenly Light") is a Chinese folk religious sect that as of the 1980s was a proscribed religion in China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the wor ...
( "Way of the Heavenly Light") * Tianhuadao ( "Way of the Heavenly Flower") * Tianmingdao ( "Way of the Heavenly Bright") *
Tianxianmiaodao The Tianxian miaodao (天仙庙道 "Way of the Temple of the Heavenly Immortals"), incorporated as the Church of the Way of the Temple of the Heavenly Immortals (天仙庙道会 ''Tiānxiān miàodào huì''), is a Chinese salvationist religious s ...
( "Way of the Temple of the Heavenly Immortals") * Wanquandao ( "Way of the Endless Whole" or "Surefire Way") * Wugong Hui * Xiaodao Hui ( "Church of the Small Sword") * Xuanmen Zhenzong (, "True School of the Mysterious Gate") * Yinjiezhi Hui * Yuanshuai Hui * Yuxumen ( "Gate of the Jade Vacuity") * Zhongfangdao ( "Way of the Middle Abode") * Zhongjiao Daoyi Hui * Zhongyongdao ( "Way of the Golden Mean") * Zhongxiao Tianfu ( "Heavenly House of Filial Loyalty") * Zhutian Hui * Zishenguo ("Zishen nation")


See also

* Ancestor veneration in China *
Chinese Buddhism Chinese Buddhism or Han Buddhism ( zh, s=汉传佛教, t=漢傳佛教, p=Hànchuán Fójiào) is a Chinese form of Mahayana Buddhism which has shaped Chinese culture in a wide variety of areas including art, politics, literature, philosophy ...
*
Chinese folk religion Chinese folk religion, also known as Chinese popular religion comprehends a range of traditional religious practices of Han Chinese, including the Chinese diaspora. Vivienne Wee described it as "an empty bowl, which can variously be fill ...
* Chinese folk religion in Southeast Asia * Chinese Manichaeism * Chinese religions of fasting *
Confucianism Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...
Confucian church * Japanese new religions, some of which are related to Chinese sects * Maitreya teachings * Northeast China folk religion *
Taoism Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Ta ...
Taoist schools * White Lotus ; In Vietnam *
Caodaism Caodaism ( vi, Đạo Cao Đài, Chữ Hán: ) is a monotheistic syncretic new religious movement officially established in the city of Tây Ninh in southern Vietnam in 1926. The full name of the religion is (The Great Faith or theThird Unive ...
* Minh Đạo ; In Indonesia * Confucian Religion in Indonesia ; In Philippines * Bell Church


References


Citations


Sources

* * * ** List first published in: * * * Ownby, David (2016). “Redemptive Societies in the Twentieth Century.” In ''Modern Chinese Religion II 1850–2015'', edited by Vincent Goossaert, Jan Kiely and John Lagerwey, Leiden: Brill, vol. 2, 685–727. * * * * * * * * {{religion topics Chinese secret societies Chinese folk religion Religion in China Religion in Taiwan East Asian religions