Defining Religion with Chinese Characters: Interrogating the Criticism of the Freedom of Religion in China.

Abstract

This thesis seeks to explore the points of dissonance and resonance around the understanding and deployment of the term 'religion' between Human Rights Watch, and the government of the People's Republic of China. In doing this, it is highlighted that a fundamental disjunction exists in the meaning of, and the boundaries of, the word 'religion' between these two groups. The space that this difference creates makes discussions on religion and religious freedom between these two groups extremely problematic, primarily because Human Rights Watch seeks to protect the right to religious freedom of groups and individuals that the Chinese government does not consider ‘religion’, but that Human Rights Watch demands they should. This thesis addresses the question of the role of social and cultural relativism in the defining, and the subsequent role in defending, of the term and contents of 'religion'.