Religion and China's Welfare Regimes - Buddhist Philanthropy and the State

This book presents the welfare regime of China as a liminal space where religious and state authorities struggle for legitimacy as new social forces emerge. It offers a unique analysis of relations between religion and state in the People's Republic of China by presenting how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) tries to harness Buddhist resources to assist in the delivery of social services and sheds light on the intermingling of Buddhism and the state since 1949. This book will appeal to academics in social sciences and humanities and broader audiences interested in the social role of religions, charity, NGOs, and in social policy implementation. The author explores why the CCP turns to Buddhist followers and their leaders and presents a detailed view of Buddhist philanthropy, contextualized with an historical overview, a regional comparative perspective, and a review of policy debates. This book contributes to our understanding of secularity in a major non-Western society influenced by religions other than Christianity.

André Laliberté is Professor of comparative politics at the School of Political Studies at the University of Ottawa, Canada. He has co-edited 'Buddhism in China after Mao' with Ji Zhe and Gareth Fisher. In 2019, he was Research Fellow for the Kolleg-Forschungsgruppe 'Multiple Secularities - Beyond the West, Beyond Modernities' in Leipzig.