The National Religious Affairs Administration (NRAA), formerly the State Administration for Religious Affairs (SARA), is an external name of the United Front Work Department of the Central Committee of the

Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...

(CCP). Formerly, it was an executive agency directly under the

State Council of the People's Republic of China The State Council of the People's Republic of China, also known as the Central People's Government, is the chief administrative authority and national cabinet. It is constitutionally the highest administrative organ of the country and the e ...

which oversaw religious affairs in the country. SARA was merged into the UFWD in 2018. The names of the former agency were retained by the UFWD as external names under the system called " one institution with two names".

History

Originally created in 1951 as the Religious Affairs Bureau, SARA was closely connected with the United Front Work Department (UFWD) and charged with overseeing the operations of China's five officially sanctioned religious organizations: * Buddhist Association of China * Chinese Taoist Association * Islamic Association of China * Three-Self Patriotic Movement (Protestant) * Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association 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 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 Philosophy, philosophical or Religion, religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new lifespan (disambiguation), lifespan in a different physical ...

s in

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet, Bhutan and Mongolia. It also has a sizable number of adherents in the areas surrounding the Himalayas, including the Indian regions of Ladakh, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, D ...

, and attempted to suppress underground Catholics loyal to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

(which he considered "colonial") and not to the government-sanctioned Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association. After Ye was promoted to the Secretary of the CCP Committee at the Central Institute of Socialism, 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, 18 September 2009. In 2018, that NRAA was merged into the UFWD as part of the deepening the reform of the Party and state institutions.

Leadership

Directors

Religious Issues Research Group of the Cultural and Educational Committee of the State Council

Religious Affairs Department of the Cultural and Educational Committee of the State Council

Religious Affairs Bureau

State Administration of Religious Affairs

References

External links

* {{Authority control Government agencies of China Religion in China State Council of China Year of establishment missing United Front Work Department Religious affairs ministries United front (China) One institution with multiple names