중국 인터넷종교 연구

Abstract

The Internet and religion are very sensitive topics to deal with in China. They control democratic function of the Internet internally as well as operate the screening system externally in the name of defending social stability, ethnic solidarity, national unity and socialism. Religion is no exception. The subject of this study is online religious activities in China. The study explores online and mobile religious activities in China and also includes ones outside the Chinese territory that Chinese government have blocked search internally. Online religious activities in China are classified into 4types depending on the service provider. First, there are websites that the State Administration of Religious Affairs, the department of local religious affairs and patriotic religious groups and their affiliated places opened. We can read the direction of the Chinese religious policy. Secondly, you can find religion-related Web pages opened by the portal, communities such as BBS and the personal internet accounts run by a religious worker or a believer on social media platform like WeiBo and WeChat. Lastly, there are anti-government religious online media run by religious extremists or the heretic. They engage in guerrilla activities to avoid internet censorship or set up a website on an overseas network. They usually aim resistance to Chinese religious policy. Therefore we can see another possibility of Chinese religion in the future.