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Religion in Inner Mongolia

Religion in Inner Mongolia (2000s-2010s)

  Chinese Buddhism, Chinese and Mongol folk religions (worship of Heaven and aobao)[1] (80%)
  Tibetan Buddhism[2] (12.0%)
  Undetermined[note 1] (2.64%)
  Chinese ancestral religion[3] (2.35%)
  Christianity[3] (2%)
  Islam[4] (1.00%)
The Temple of the Five Pagodas in Hohhot (built in 1732).
Temple of the White Sulde of Genghis Khan in the town of Uxin in Inner Mongolia, in the Mu Us Desert. The worship of Genghis is shared by Chinese and Mongolian folk religion.[note 2]

Religion in Inner Mongolia is characterised by the diverse traditions of Mongolian-Tibetan Buddhism, Chinese Buddhism, the Chinese traditional religion including the traditional Chinese ancestral religion, Taoism, Confucianism and folk religious sects, and the Mongolian native religion. The region is inhabited by a majority of Han Chinese and a substantial minority of Southern Mongols (the Mongols of China), so that some religions follow ethnic lines.

According to a survey held in 2004 by the Minzu University of China, about 80% of the population of the region practice the worship of Heaven (that is named Tian in the Chinese tradition and Tenger in the Mongolian tradition) and of aobao.[1] Official statistics report that 12.1% of the population (3 million people) are members of Tibetan Buddhist groups.[2] According to the Chinese Spiritual Life Survey of 2007 and the Chinese General Social Survey of 2009, Christianity is the religious identity of 2% of the population of the region and the Chinese ancestral religion (traditional lineage churches) is the professed belonging of 2.36%,[3] while a demographic analysis of the year 2010 reported that Muslims comprise the 0.91%.[4]

Mongolian Buddhism, which is of the same schools of Tibetan Buddhism, was the dominant religion in Inner Mongolia until the 19th century.[5] Its monastic institution was virtually eradicated during the Cultural Revolution, that was particularly tough against the political power of the lamas.[5] Since the 1980s there has been a modest revival, with the reconstruction of some important monasteries and new smaller temples.[5]

At the same time, there has been an unprecedented development of Mongolian shamanism, especially centered on the cult of Genghis Khan and the Heaven, the former being traditionally considered an embodiment of Heaven itself,[6][7] in special temples (many of which yurt-style), and the cult of aobao as ancestral shrines. The cult of Genghis is also shared by the Han Chinese, claiming his spirit as the founding principle of the Yuan dynasty.[8]

In facts, there has been a significant integration of the Han Chinese of Inner Mongolia into the traditional Mongolian spiritual heritage of the region.[9] Reconstructed Buddhist monasteries and folk temples are massively attended by local Han.[9] Moreover, as elsewhere in China, there has been a growing conscious adoption of the Gelug sect, and other Tibetan-originated Buddhist schools, by the Han Chinese.[9]

  1. ^ a b Fenggang Yang, Graeme Lang. Social Scientific Studies of Religion in China. BRILL, 2012. ISBN 9004182462. pp. 184-185, reporting the results of surveys held in 2004 by the Minzu University of China. Quote from page 185: «[...] the registered adherents of the five official religions comprise only 3.7% of those [populations] in Inner Mongolia. When we compare this final statistic with Minzu University research team's finding that 80% of the inhabitants of Inner Mongolia worship Tian (loosely translated "Heaven") and aobao (traditional stone structures that serve as altars for sacrifice), it is evident that the official calculations of registered religious believers are markedly low, and the policy decisions based on these numbers lack the necessary grounding in reality. [...] Foreign religions can be transformed into indigenous ethnic religions, and the traditional folk religions of China's ethnic minorities can integrate and neutralize non-native religions. Thus, China's ethnic religions should not be regarded as social burdens or challenges, but rather as valuable cultural assets.»
  2. ^ a b Wu, Jiayu; Fang, Yong (January 2016). "Study on the Protection of the Lama Temple Heritage in Inner Mongolia as a Cultural Landscape". Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering. 15 (1): 9–16.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) Note that the article, in an evident mistranslation from Chinese, reports 30 million Tibetan Buddhists in Inner Mongolia instead of 3 million.
  3. ^ a b c Chinese Spiritual Life Survey (CSLS) 2007, China General Social Survey (CGSS) 2009. Results reported by: Xiuhua Wang (2015, p. 15)
  4. ^ a b Min Junqing. The Present Situation and Characteristics of Contemporary Islam in China. JISMOR, 8. 2010 Islam by province, page 29. Data from: Yang Zongde, Study on Current Muslim Population in China, Jinan Muslim, 2, 2010.
  5. ^ a b c Wallace, 2015. p. 282
  6. ^ Man, 2004. pp. 402-404
  7. ^ Man, 2005. pp. 22-23
  8. ^ Man, 2005. p. 23
  9. ^ a b c Goossaert, Palmer. 2011. p. 369


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