Religion Cannot Sustain the Values of Modern Society

In contemporary Chinese society, where the economy is developing rapidly, various negative phenomena such as the production and sale of counterfeit goods, corruption, and social indifference, accompanied by ethnic and religious disputes, intermittent separatist activities, and violent terrorist incidents, are not only undermining healthy economic development, social harmony and stability, and even national security, but are also giving rise to psychological confusion, moral crisis, and even a loss of faith among the people. Consequently, more and more people are beginning to seek psychological solace from religion and have developed a keen interest in religion’s role in moral edification. Some individuals hope to use religious belief and religious awe to resolve social problems, rescue society from crisis, and maintain social harmony; some even hope to seek value support from religion to promote cultural flourishing, political harmony, and the long-term stability and security of the state.

在经济快速发展的当代中国社会，各种制假售假、贪污腐败、社会冷漠等负面现象伴随各种民族宗教纷争、时隐时现的分裂活动和暴力恐怖事件，在冲击经济健康发展、社会和谐稳定乃至国家安全的同时，也带来人们心理困惑、道德危机甚而信仰迷失。于是，越来越多的人开始从宗教中寻求心理慰藉，对宗教的道德教化表现出浓厚兴趣。一些人期望利用宗教信仰、宗教敬畏来化解社会问题，拯救社会危机，维护社会和谐，甚而希望从宗教中寻求价值支撑，推动文化昌明、政治和谐和国家长治久安。

So, can religion resolve the social problems that arise in the process of modernization? Or can we use religion to rescue society from crisis? The answer is no.

那么，宗教能否化解现代化进程中的社会问题？或者我们能借助宗教拯救社会危机？答案是否定的。

Generally speaking, religion has functions such as psychological adjustment, moral edification, cultural transmission, group cohesion, social control, and integration. Looking at the role religion has played throughout human history, it can be either a positive force promoting social stability, harmony, and social change, or a negative force leading to ethnic division, the stupefaction of the people, and obstruction of innovation. Especially in a society undergoing profound change and rapid transformation, this double-edged-sword effect of religion is particularly pronounced. The grim reality of conflicts and turmoil triggered by religious factors worldwide, as well as various disorderly phenomena under China’s open conditions, such as using religion to amass wealth, all warn us that we must understand the dual nature of religion with great caution.

一般说来，宗教具有心理调适、道德教化、文化传承、群体凝聚、社会控制与整合等方面的功能。纵观宗教在人类历史长河中所起的作用，宗教既可以成为推动社会稳定和谐、推动社会变革的积极力量，也可以是导致分离族群、愚化民智、妨碍革新的消极力量。尤其是在一个深刻变革、快速转型的社会中，宗教的这种双刃剑作用表现尤为突出。世界范围因宗教因素引发冲突动乱的严酷现实，以及我国开放条件下借宗教聚敛钱财等种种无序现象，都警示我们要十分慎重地认识宗教的两重性。

There is no doubt that the Enlightenment and the advance of modernization in modern Western society have been a process of the gradual weakening of religious influence. The modern Western capitalist revolution began with the opposition to theocracy, marked by the establishment of the modern political system of separation of church and state and constitutional government. With the development of social secularization, religion has long ceased to occupy the central position in Western society. Max Weber summarized the trajectory of modern Western thought as the “disenchantment of the world.” Modernization is a process of “disenchantment” that gradually sheds religious influence. So-called disenchantment means that the entire society emerges from the total control of religion, and people live in a rationalist world. The influence of religion is more often manifested at the level of personal belief, belonging to the private sphere. In the public sphere, belief in the law is the social consensus and the basic principle of state governance.

毋庸置疑，近代西方社会的启蒙和现代化的推进，是宗教影响日益弱化的过程。近代西方的资本主义革命是从反神权开始的，标志是政教分离与宪政的现代政治制度的确立。随着社会世俗化的发展，宗教早已不占据西方社会的中心位置。马克斯·韦伯把西方近代思想的发展轨迹概括为“世界的解魅”。现代化就是一个逐渐摆脱宗教影响的“解魅”过程。所谓解魅，意指整个社会走出宗教的全能控制，人生活在一个理性主义的世界。宗教的影响力更多地表现在个人信仰层面，属于私人领域。在公共领域，法律信仰是社会共识，也是国家治理的基本准则。

In the modernization of contemporary Chinese society, religion likewise does not play a role of value support, important guidance, or dominant function. Historical materialism holds that it is people who create religion, not religion that creates people; it is social development that determines religious development, not religious development that determines social development. Of course, religion uses its specific resources to exert influence on the process of social development, but this influence is merely an effort to gain space for survival and development within the new social environment.

宗教在当代中国社会现代化发展中同样不具有价值支撑、重要引领或者主导性作用。唯物史观认为，是人创造了宗教，不是宗教创造了人，是社会发展决定宗教发展，不是宗教发展决定社会发展。当然，宗教利用其特有资源，对社会发展进程发生影响，但这种影响也只是争取在新的社会环境中生存和发展的空间。

In the past, we were long lost in a simplistic negation of religion; today, we must not fall into a new misinterpretation of excessive veneration for religion. The essential attribute of religion is belief in supernatural forces. As Mr. Ren Jiyu [1]1 Ren Jiyu (1916–2009) was a prominent Chinese philosopher and historian of Chinese philosophy and religion, known for his Marxist analysis of religion. stated: “The ideological foundation of religion is blind faith, not reason or speculation.” “The fact that religion continues to exist can be given a scientific explanation, but this by no means proves that it possesses scientificity.”

过去我们曾经长期迷失在对宗教的简单化否定中，今天我们也不能陷入对宗教过分推崇的新误读中。宗教的本质属性是对超自然力的信仰，正如任继愈先生所言：“宗教的思想基础是盲目信仰，而不是理性、思辨”。“宗教继续存在这个事实，可以找到科学的说明，但决不能由此证明它有科学性”。

Rule of law is a hallmark of modern society. The rule of law originates from legal belief and legal awe based on science and reason, and legal belief is built upon a consensus on core social values. In Western countries, the consensus on core values is mainly expressed as freedom, democracy, equality, and fraternity. The state governance and social governance of contemporary China are supported by core socialist values [2]2 Core socialist values: a set of 12 values promoted by the CPC, grouped into three levels: national (prosperity, democracy, civility, harmony), social (freedom, equality, justice, rule of law), and individual (patriotism, dedication, integrity, friendship). whose main content is fairness, justice, equality, and inclusiveness. Contemporary society acknowledges the special value-guiding role of religious values for some citizens, but this does not mean that religion should be regarded as the support of human civilization or the core values of national and social development, to be promoted and advocated. Whether constructing industrial strategies in the form of religious material culture or building social value support on the basis of religious ethics, this will bring about tensions between different religions. Under the current complex environment, the ruling party must be clear-headed, firm in will, and resolute in action in its grasp of the social role of religion. (The author is Director of the Ethnic and Religious Teaching and Research Office at the Central Institute of Socialism [3]3 The Central Institute of Socialism is the leading training institution for non-Communist Party cadres and united front work personnel in China, directly under the CPC Central Committee.)

法治是现代社会的标志，法治源于以科学和理性为基础的法律信仰和法律敬畏，而法律信仰建立在社会核心价值共识之上。在西方国家的核心价值共识主要表现为自由、民主、平等、博爱等。当代中国的国家治理和社会治理是以公平、正义、平等、包容为主要内容的社会主义核心价值为支撑的。当代社会承认宗教价值观对一部分公民的特殊价值导向作用，但不意味着把宗教看作人类文明的支撑、国家和社会发展的核心价值而弘扬倡导。无论是以宗教物态文化形式来建构产业战略，还是以宗教伦理来建构社会价值支撑，都将带来不同宗教之间的紧张。在当前复杂的环境下，执政党对宗教社会作用的把握必须头脑清醒，意志坚定，行动有力。(作者是中央社会主义学院民族与宗教教研室主任)

Online editor: Jia Fei

网络编辑：嘉扉