China began gradually coming out of a period of atheistic communism with the death of Mao Zedong and the end of the Cultural Revolution in 1976.  A Tibetan monk described how it used to be, “Mama and papa told me in secret that this is a sacred lake. But they said, "Don't ever talk about it openly,” because we couldn’t talk about gods. They do not exist in the Communist Party’s eyes; they are superstitions. If anyone talked about a god they would be beaten, so we wouldn’t dare to say it.” (Tashi Sange, Tibetan Buddhist monk, PBS interview)

The country began a slow return to its religious traditions. The first World Buddhist Forum in 2006 was launched by Xi Jinping, then party secretary of a province (Zhejiang) and a rising star in the Communist Party of China. The Buddhist Forum was convened again in 2009 and 2012 at Beijing. http://carnegieendowment.org/2014/12/03/chinese-takeaway-modhi-s-buddhism

Now President of the People’s Republic, Xi Jinping has called for building both a "material and spiritual civilization," (September 29, 2013). He believes, “China is losing its moral compass,” and he wants the ruling Communist Party “to be more tolerant of traditional faiths in the hope they will fill a vacuum created by the country’s runaway economic growth and rush to get rich, sources said.” http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/29/us-china-politics-vacuum-idUSBRE98S0GS20130929

“[Buddhist] philosophy also held that the Buddha (divine) nature resided in all men; that man, through his own endeavors, could attain to the realization of this inner divinity. And this teaching is one of the clearest presentations of the truth of the indwelling Adjusters ever to be made by a Urantian religion.” (The UB, 94:11.5)

The sense of impending crisis, whether the country can sustain healthy growth and avert destruction, is drawing people back to religion as good medicine. Governmental officials are looking to all three traditional faiths, Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism, to help build “an ecological civilization,” a goal that was written into the Chinese constitution in 2012.

“Buddhism is a living, growing religion today because it succeeds in conserving many of the highest moral values of its adherents. It promotes calmness and self-control, augments serenity and happiness, and does much to prevent sorrow and mourning. Those who believe this philosophy live better lives than many who do not.” (94:9.6)

According to legend, Buddhism was first established in China by Han Emperor Ming (58-75 AD). The Han Dynasty was deeply Confucian so the new teachings didn’t flourish until the dynasty’s fall in 220. Buddhism continued to thrive when Northern and Southern China reunited in 589. It was one of the traditions held in common. With the rise of the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), Buddhism spread even more quickly and reached its peak as an important part of Chinese culture, arts and philosophy.

“Buddhism stretches from Ceylon and Burma through Tibet and China to Japan. It has shown an adaptability to the mores of many peoples that has been equaled only by Christianity.” (The UB, 92:6.16)

The Communist Party does not seem as keen to encourage Christianity as it does Buddhism. Only a small percentage of the Chinese population has embraced the Christian faith. “Many non-European peoples very naturally look upon Christianity as a strange revelation of a strange God and for strangers.” (92:6.18) Christians in China face government persecutions, especially in the coastal city of Wenzou with its hundreds of churches. Besides crackdowns on the “house churches,” government officials who profess faith in the “strange God” are sent to take remedial courses to relearn the Communist “party line.’

Yet some believe Christianity too is growing. Accurate poll figures are difficult to verify, but those provided by Indiana’s Purdue University say that the Christian church in China has grown by an average of 10% a year since 1980. More people may believe in the existence of Shangdi/Yesu, the “Christian God” of Jesus’ teachings than before.

Gerda Wielander of the University of Westminster, in her book “Christian Values in Communist China”, observes that many Chinese are attracted to Christianity because it offers a complete moral system with a transcendental source, now that belief in Marxism is declining. The same hunger for a more spiritual morality seeks to be satisfied by the return to Buddhism or Daoism. 

“At the time of this writing, much of Asia rests its hope in Buddhism. Will this noble faith, that has so valiantly carried on through the dark ages of the past, once again receive the truth of expanded cosmic realities even as the disciples of the great teacher in India once listened to his proclamation of new truth? Will this ancient faith respond once more to the invigorating stimulus of the presentation of new concepts of God and the Absolute for which it has so long searched?” (The UB, 94:12.6)

(This article originally appeared on examiner.com but has been modified)