The State Administration for Religious Affairs (SARA) was an executive agency directly under the

State Council of the People's Republic of China The State Council, constitutionally synonymous with the Central People's Government since 1954 (particularly in relation to local governments), is the chief administrative authority of the People's Republic of China. It is chaired by the p ...

which oversaw religious affairs in the country. Originally created in 1951 as the Religious Affairs Bureau, SARA was closely connected with the

United Front Work Department The United Front Work Department of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (UFWD; ) is a department of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) which is officially tasked with "united front work". For this endeavo ...

of the

Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party The Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, officially the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is a political body that comprises the top leaders of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It is currently composed of 205 fu ...

and charged with overseeing the operations of China's five officially sanctioned religious organizations: *

Buddhist Association of China The Buddhist Association of China (BCA; ) is the official government supervisory organ of Buddhism in the People's Republic of China. The association has been overseen by the United Front Work Department of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) since ...

Chinese Taoist Association Chinese Taoist Association (CTA ; ), founded in April 1957, is the official government supervisory organ of Taoism in the People's Republic of China. It is overseen by the United Front Work Department of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) since th ...

Islamic Association of China The Islamic Association of China () is the official government supervisory organ for Islam in the People's Republic of China. The association is overseen by the United Front Work Department of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) following the ...

Three-Self Patriotic Movement The Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM; ) is the official government supervisory organ for Protestantism in the People's Republic of China. It is colloquially known as the Three-Self Church (). The National Committee of the Three-Self Patriot ...

(Protestant) *

Catholic Patriotic Association The Catholic Patriotic Association (), abbreviated CPA, is a state-sanctioned organization of Catholicism in the People's Republic of China. It was established in 1957 after a group of Chinese Catholics met in Beijing with officials from the Chi ...

SARA was dissolved in 2018, placing all religious affairs directly under the United Front Work Department.

History

The State Administration for Religious Affairs was established to exercise control over religious appointments, the selection of clergy, and the interpretation of religious doctrine. SARA was also meant to ensure that the registered religious organizations support and carry out the policy priorities of the CCP. For instance, SARA has maintained a "living Buddha database" to track prominent Tibetan Buddhists who are loyal to the CCP.

Ye Xiaowen Ye Xiaowen (; born August 1950) is a Chinese politician who held various top posts relating to state regulation of religion in China from 1995 to 2009. In 1995, Ye became the director of the Bureau of Religious Affairs under the State Council. ...

directed the SARA from 1995 to 2009. During his tenure, he issued the State Religious Affairs Bureau Order No. 5, which furthered state control over

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is a ...

s in

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...

, and attempted to suppress underground Catholics loyal to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

(which he considered "colonial") and not to the government-sanctioned

. After Ye was promoted to the Secretary of the CCP Committee at the

Central Institute of Socialism Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

, the former Deputy Director Wang Zuo'an was promoted to Director.宗教局長換人專家指政策不變
(New Chairman for SARA, Experts Says Policy Has Not Changed),

Ming Pao ''Ming Pao'' () is a Chinese-language newspaper published by Media Chinese International in Hong Kong. In the 1990s, ''Ming Pao'' established four overseas branches in North America; each provides independent reporting on local news and colle ...

, 18 September 2009. Under the

Xi Jinping Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, s ...

administration, it was announced in 2018 that SARA was being dissolved and its functions would be collapsed into the United Front Work Department.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Government agencies of China Religion in China State Council of the People's Republic of China Year of establishment missing Organizations associated with the Chinese Communist Party Religious affairs ministries United Front (China)

History

See also

Related PRC authorities

Similar government agencies

References

External links