Conceptualizing and Measuring Religion in China: Theory and Measures Appropriate for the Case

How religious are the Chinese? Estimates vary greatly, and the answer to this question generally depends on what definition of religion is being applied. China, however, complicates efforts to apply standard sociological definitions of religion in two main ways: the Chinese government's official conceptualization of religion has dominated Chinese religious discourse over the past century, and the exclusive, belief-centric, and congregational conceptualizations of religion developed in the Western, Judeo-Christian context are of little use in understanding the largely local, ritual-based practices common in places like China. In short, such complications illustrate the fact that we will never understand and measure 'religion' in China well until we theorize 'religion' well, and understanding religion in China requires adequate measures that are appropriate for the case. Martin Riesebrodt's practice-based theory of religion allows us to sidestep issues of meaning, belief, and subjective understandings of religion and instead look at religion as a systematic complex of practices. Adam Yuet Chau's five modalities of Chinese religious practice are, in turn, a prime example of Riesebrodtian-style theorizing specific to the Chinese case. This paper explores the implications of applying Riesebrodt's theory, as operationalized using Chau's modalities, to China before concluding that according to this definition of religion, the vast majority of the Chinese qualify as religious.