The Triple Basis and Practical Path of the Principle That Religious Activities Must Not Interfere with Social Life

In recent years, the willingness of religions to participate in society has grown increasingly strong, and their engagement with the secular world has generally intensified. Some religious organizations and individuals are keen to become involved in various social affairs, which in turn has led to increasingly complex and frequent conflicts between religion and relevant aspects of society. Group incidents and emergencies involving appeals for religious interests are on the rise. The increase in uncertain and unstable factors in the religious sphere has brought severe challenges to religious governance in the New Era. At the National Conference on Religious Work in December 2021, General Secretary Xi Jinping clearly stated that "religious activities must not interfere with education, the judiciary, administrative functions, or social life." [1]1 Karl Marx, “Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right: Introduction,” in Marx and Engels Collected Works, vol. 3 (Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1975), p. 175. This important exposition further delineates the boundaries of religious activities and provides an important guideline for conducting religious work in the New Era. The thesis that "religious activities must not interfere with social life" vividly embodies the Party's accurate grasp and scientific assessment of the new circumstances, new situations, and new problems in the field of religious work in the New Era. Behind it lie profound theoretical foundations, robust institutional support, and a strong practical imperative.

近年来，宗教的社会参与意愿越来越高，入世性普遍增强。一些宗教组织和个人热衷于参加各类社会事务，进而导致宗教与社会有关方面的矛盾日趋复杂并频发。涉及宗教利益诉求的群体性、突发性事件等呈上升态势。宗教领域不确定性和不稳定性因素的增多给新时代宗教治理工作带来了严峻挑战。2021年12月，习近平总书记在全国宗教工作会议上明确指出，“宗教活动不得干涉教育、司法、行政职能和社会生活”。这一重要论述进一步明确了宗教活动的界限，为做好新时代宗教工作提供了重要遵循。“宗教活动不得干涉社会生活”这一论断，鲜明体现了党对新时代宗教工作领域新形势、新情况、新问题的准确把握和科学研判。其背后蕴含着深刻的理论依据、有力的制度支撑和强烈的现实关照。

I. Theoretical Foundations for the Principle That Religious Activities Must Not Interfere with Social Life

一、宗教活动不得干涉社会生活的理论依据

Based on the stance, viewpoint, and method of historical materialism, the classical Marxist writers conducted in-depth research on the essence of religion, its origins, its social role, and the laws of its development and demise, providing scientific theoretical guidance for proletarian parties to correctly understand religion and handle religious issues. The characteristics revealed by Marxism—the illusory nature of the essence of religion, the private nature of religious belief, and the irrationality of religious mysticism—stand in sharp contrast to the features of modern social life itself, such as practicality, publicness, and scientific rationality.

马克思主义经典作家基于唯物史观的立场、观点和方法，对宗教的本质、产生根源、社会作用及发展消亡规律进行了深入的研究，为无产阶级政党正确认识宗教和处理宗教问题提供了科学理论指导。马克思主义所揭示的宗教本质的虚幻性、宗教信仰的私人性和宗教神秘主义的非理性等特征，与现代社会生活本身所具有的实践性、公共性和科学理性等特点形成了鲜明对比。

1. The Contradiction Between the Illusory Nature of the Essence of Religion and the Practical Nature of the Essence of Modern Social Life

1.宗教本质虚幻性与现代社会生活本质实践性之间的矛盾

Regarding the essence of religion, Engels pointed out in *Anti-Dühring*: "All religion, however, is nothing but the fantastic reflection in men's minds of those external forces which control their daily life, a reflection in which the terrestrial forces assume the form of supernatural forces." [2]2 Xi Jinping’s speech at the National Conference on Religious Work, December 2021. The “three teams” refer to Party and government cadres specializing in religious work, representatives of religious circles, and researchers in religious studies. This is consistent with Marx's view of religion as "a reversed world-consciousness" and "the fantastic realization of the human essence." [3]3 "Maintaining stability" (维稳, wéiwěn) refers to the state's policy of preserving social and political stability, often involving the management of social conflicts. The classical Marxist writers' exposition on the essence of religion is based on religion's "inverted" and "illusory" reflection of the "social essence" of human beings. "The highest beings created by religious fantasy are only the illusory reflection of our own essence." [4]4 This is a quotation from a speech by Xi Jinping at the 2014 Central Conference on Ethnic Work. Therefore, religion's reflection of the human essence is an "illusory reflection," and religion itself is also illusory. Reviewing the development of European feudal society, religion long controlled secular society, and religious activities permeated every aspect of social life. The ruling class, relying on "religion... the general theory of that world," [5]5 The July 5, 2009 Urumqi riots were a series of violent protests and attacks in Urumqi, Xinjiang, resulting in significant casualties, which the Chinese government attributes to separatist and extremist forces. stupefied the people, causing them to wallow in the imagination and pursuit of an illusory "otherworldly realm." This imagination and pursuit of an illusory "otherworldly realm" could only yield "the illusory happiness of the people," not "real happiness." [6]6 The May 22, 2014 Urumqi attack was a terrorist bombing at a morning market in Urumqi, Xinjiang, causing numerous casualties, for which the Chinese government blamed extremist groups. People, trapped in the "illusory happiness" of a "hallucinatory situation," abandoned the practical exploration of the essence of real social life.

关于宗教的本质，恩格斯在《反杜林论》中指出:“一切宗教都不过是支配着人们日常生活的外部力量在人们头脑中的幻想的反映，在这种反映中，人间的力量采取了超人间的力量的形式”。这与马克思把宗教视为“一种颠倒的世界意识”，“是人的本质在幻想中的实现”具有一致性。马克思主义经典作家对宗教本质的论述，是基于宗教“颠倒”“虚幻”反映人的“社会本质”展开的。“宗教幻想所创造出来的那些最高存在物只是我们自己的本质的虚幻反映”。所以，宗教对人的本质的反映是一种“虚幻的反映”，同时宗教自身也是虚幻的。回顾欧洲封建社会发展历程，宗教曾经长期控制着世俗社会，宗教活动渗透在社会生活的方方面面。统治阶级凭借“宗教……包罗万象的纲要”愚化人民，使人民沉溺在对虚幻“彼岸世界”的想象和追求中。这种对虚幻“彼岸世界”的想象和追求所换来的只能是“人民的虚幻幸福”，而非是“现实的幸福”。人处于“虚幻幸福”的“幻觉的处境”中，放弃了对现实社会生活本质的实践探寻。

2. The Contradiction Between the Private Nature of Religious Belief and the Public Nature of Modern Social Life

2.宗教信仰私人性与现代社会生活公共性之间的矛盾

Lenin repeatedly stated, "As far as the state is concerned, we demand that religion be a private matter." [7]7 V. I. Lenin, "Socialism and Religion." The essence of China's policy of religious freedom also lies in "making the issue of religious belief a matter of individual citizens' free choice and a private affair of individual citizens." [8]8 The State Council Information Office of the People's Republic of China, *White Paper: Freedom of Religious Belief in China* (1997). The purpose of this stipulation is to make politics belong to politics and religion belong to religion, so that religious belief truly becomes a private matter. However, in real society, this boundary between "public" and "private" is not very clear, and their interweaving is extremely complex. Religion is ultimately influenced by its social reality; the economic and political conditions of real society are inevitably reflected in people's religious beliefs, thus creating a connection between people's religious belief status and their social and political attitudes. For religious believers, religion, as a matter of private affairs, may become the carrier or spokesperson for their social and political demands. Therefore, in real social life, it is difficult for citizens to precisely delineate the boundary between the private sphere of religious belief and the public sphere of social and political life, which may even lead to a binary opposition between the private life of civil society and the public life of the political state. Once the two types of life are severed, and private life in civil society becomes the dominant force, with public life reduced to an appendage of private life, various relationships in social life will be inverted. Consequently, human social relations will shift from being concrete to abstract, religion in private life will become the spiritual pillar of civil society, and the problem of the alienation of the human essence will become more severe. Therefore, religious activities must be confined to the sphere of private life and must not be allowed to penetrate and interfere with public social life.

列宁曾多次提到，“就国家而言，我们要求宗教是私人的事情”。我国宗教信仰ZY政策的实质也在于“使宗教信仰问题成为公民个人ZY选择的问题，成为公民个人的私事”。这样规定的目的就在于使政治归政治、宗教归宗教，宗教信仰真正成为私人的事情。但在现实社会中，这种“公私”界限并不是十分清晰，两者的交织也异常复杂。宗教归根结底受其社会现实存在的影响，现实社会的经济、政治状况势必反映到人的宗教信仰中，这样就使得人的宗教信仰状况与社会政治态度之间发生了联系。对于宗教信仰者而言，作为私人事务性质的宗教则可能成为其社会政治要求的载体或代言。所以，在现实社会生活中，公民对宗教信仰私人领域与社会政治生活公共领域之间的界限是难以精准划分的，甚至有可能导致市民社会的私人生活与政治国家的公共生活之间的二元对立。一旦两种生活割裂，市民社会中的私人生活成为主导力量，公共生活沦为私人生活附庸时，社会生活中的各种关系将会颠倒。随之，人的社会关系也会从现实性变为抽象性，私人生活中的宗教便会成为市民社会的精神支柱，人的本质异化问题将会更加严重。因此，必须将宗教活动限制在私人生活领域，不能任其渗透和干涉社会公共生活。

3. The Contradiction Between Religious Mysticism and the Rationality of Modern Social Life

3.宗教神秘主义和现代社会生活理性之间的矛盾

As a religious and philosophical concept, mysticism exists universally in the world's major religions and philosophical traditions. From the Marxist perspective on the process of religion's development and evolution, deities in religion, at their advanced stages of development, tend to appear in "mysterious forms," the essence of which is a kind of religious mysticism. People believe in the existence of some mysterious force through intuitive experience, sudden enlightenment, and other forms, and make individual behavioral choices according to the dictates of this mysterious force. Under the influence of religious mysticism, people's modes of thinking and behavioral choices exhibit irrational characteristics. The formation of modern social life is "a process in which rational secular cultural values replace the religious worldview picture." [9]9 This is a paraphrase of a common thesis in the sociology of religion, associated with Max Weber's concept of "disenchantment." Since modern times, with the rise and development of concepts such as "popular sovereignty" and "democratic politics" in theory and practice, "mass rationality" or "people's rationality" has gradually replaced "divine rationality" as the rational cornerstone for people to construct models of political life. Modern social life, built on the foundation of rationality, has to a certain extent achieved the sublation of religious mysticism. First, values such as freedom, equality, and democracy have revolutionized people's modes of thinking, established the basic value norms and behavioral standards of modern society, and achieved the sublation of mysticism at the spiritual level. Second, the ordering, standardization, and rule-of-law operation of the public life sphere provide effective institutional guarantees for the governance of modern society, achieving the sublation of mysticism at the institutional level. Third, contractual modern ethics, established on the basis of common value goals and interest appeals, transcend religious ethics bound by common faith, achieving the sublation of mysticism at the ethical level. Therefore, based on the consideration of constructing a more rational and better modern social life, interference by religious activities in social life should naturally be avoided.

作为一种宗教观念和哲学观念，神秘主义普遍地存在于世界各大宗教和哲学传统中。从马克思主义关于宗教的发展演变历程揭示来看，宗教的神祇，在其发展的高级阶段，倾向于以“神秘形象”示人，其实质是一种宗教神秘主义。人们通过直观体验、顿悟等形式相信某种神秘力量的存在，并按照神秘力量之规定进行个体行为选择。在宗教神秘主义的影响下，人们的思维方式和行为选择呈现出非理性特征。现代社会生活的形成是“理性的世俗文化价值取代宗教世界观图景的过程”，近代以来，随着“人民主权”“民主政治”等观念在理论和实践中的兴起和发展，“大众理性”或“人民理性”逐步取代了“上帝理性”，成为人们建构政治生活模式的理性基石。建立在理性基础上的现代社会生活，在一定程度上实现了对宗教神秘主义的扬弃。一是自由、平等、民主等价值观念革新了人们的思维方式，奠定了现代社会基本的价值规范和行为准则，在精神层面实现了对神秘主义的扬弃。二是公共生活领域的秩序化、规范化和法治化运作，为现代社会提供了治理有效的制度保障，在制度层面实现了对神秘主义的扬弃。三是基于共同的价值目标和利益诉求建立的契约式现代伦理，超越了以共同信仰为纽带的宗教伦理，在伦理层面实现了对神秘主义的扬弃。因此，基于建构更加理性、更加美好的现代社会生活考量，理应避免宗教活动对社会生活的干预。

II. Institutional Foundations for the Principle That Religious Activities Must Not Interfere with Social Life

二、宗教活动不得干涉社会生活的制度依据

Religious work, as a major issue that cannot be ignored and must be highly emphasized on the path of China's modernization development, occupies an important position in the Party's policy system and the national legal system. By reviewing the basic policies and guidelines of the Communist Party of China concerning religious work since reform and opening up, as well as the laws and regulations concerning religious work formulated and implemented by the state, we find that the thesis that "religious activities must not interfere with social life" has robust institutional support, which is specifically reflected in the following two aspects.

宗教工作作为中国现代化发展道路上不能忽视且必须高度重视的重大问题，在党的政策体系和国家法律体系中占有重要位置。通过梳理改革开放以来中国共产党有关宗教工作的基本方针政策和国家制定实施的有关宗教工作的法律法规，我们发现“宗教活动不得干涉社会生活”这一论断有着强有力的制度支撑，这具体体现在以下两个方面。

1. The Party's Policies and Guidelines on Religious Work Provide Basic Policy Guidance

1.党有关宗教工作的方针政策提供了基本的政策遵循

In the course of the Party leading the people in revolution, construction, and reform, the Communist Party of China has integrated the Marxist view on religion with the concrete realities of religion in China, forming a scientific theoretical system of religious policy. Within these policies, there are consistently expressions that religious activities must not interfere with social life. For example, the "Basic Views and Basic Policies on the Religious Question during the Socialist Period in Our Country," issued by the CPC Central Committee in 1982, clearly states that "it is absolutely not permitted for religion to interfere with state administration, judicature, schools, and public social education," and strictly stipulates the limits of religious activities, "avoiding obstruction of social order, production order, and work order." The "Notice on Several Issues Concerning Further Improving Religious Work," issued by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council in 1991, again emphasized: "No one may use religion to oppose the Party's leadership and the socialist system, endanger national unity, social stability, and ethnic solidarity, or harm the interests of society and the collective, or obstruct the legitimate rights of other citizens. No one may use religion to interfere with state administration, judicature, school education, and public social education, or use religion to engage in activities that obstruct the implementation of compulsory education, or restore religious feudal privileges and systems of oppression and exploitation that have already been abolished." The "Decision on Strengthening Religious Work," issued by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council in 2002, also emphasized that "religious activities must not obstruct social order, work order, and life order." Important meetings concerning religious work also reflect this aspect. For instance, at the 2016 National Conference on Religious Work, General Secretary Xi Jinping stressed, "Adhere to the principle that religion must not interfere with the implementation of state functions such as administration, judicature, and education; adhere to the government's lawful management of religious affairs involving national interests and public interests." At the 2021 National Conference on Religious Work, General Secretary Xi Jinping again clearly emphasized: "Religious activities should be carried out within the scope stipulated by laws and regulations, must not harm citizens' physical health, must not violate public order and good customs, and must not interfere with the functions of education, judicature, administration, and social life." In addition, other important Party documents contain similar expressions. For example, the "Norms for Political Life within the Party under the New Situation" [1]1 Karl Marx, “Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right: Introduction,” in Marx and Engels Collected Works, vol. 3 (Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1975), p. 175. stipulates at the level of regulating Party members' political life that "Party members are not allowed to engage in feudal superstition or believe in religion." Article 24 of the "Regulations of the CPC United Front Work" [2]2 Xi Jinping’s speech at the National Conference on Religious Work, December 2021. The “three teams” refer to Party and government cadres specializing in religious work, representatives of religious circles, and researchers in religious studies. clearly emphasizes "adhering to the separation of politics and religion." The "Opinions on Strengthening and Improving Ideological and Political Work in Colleges and Universities under the New Situation" [3]3 "Maintaining stability" (维稳, wéiwěn) refers to the state's policy of preserving social and political stability, often involving the management of social conflicts. clearly states: "Adhere to the principle of separation of education and religion, and strictly prohibit the dissemination of religion, the development of believers, and the organization of religious activities in colleges and universities." The above documents specifically emphasize key groups such as Party members and young people, further highlighting the importance of religious activities not interfering with social life.

在党领导人民革命、建设和改革的历程中，中国共产党把马克思主义宗教观同中国宗教的具体实际相结合，形成了科学的宗教政策理论体系。在这些政策中均有宗教活动不得干涉社会生活的话语表述。如：1982年中共中央印发的《关于我国社会主义时期宗教问题的基本观点和基本政策》中就明确指出，“绝不允许宗教干预国家行政、司法、学校和社会公共教育”，并对宗教活动的限度进行了严格规定，“避免妨碍社会秩序、生产秩序和工作秩序”。1991年中共中央、国务院印发的《关于进一步做好宗教工作若干问题的通知》中再次强调：“任何人不得利用宗教反对党的领导和社会主义制度，危害国家统一、社会稳定和民族团结，不得损害社会、集体的利益，妨碍其他公民的合法权利。任何人不得利用宗教干预国家行政、司法、学校教育和社会公共教育，不得利用宗教进行妨碍义务教育实施的活动，不得恢复已被废除的宗教封建特权和压迫剥削制度。”2002年中共中央、国务院印发的《关于加强宗教工作的决定》中同样也强调了“宗教活动不得妨碍社会秩序、工作秩序和生活秩序”。在涉及宗教工作的重要会议上也有着相关方面内容的体现，如在2016年全国宗教工作会议上，习近平总书记强调，“坚持宗教不得干预行政、司法、教育等国家职能实施，坚持政府依法对涉及国家利益和社会公共利益的宗教事务进行管理”；2021年全国宗教工作会议上，习近平总书记再次明确强调：“宗教活动应当在法律法规规定范围内开展，不得损害公民身体健康，不得违背公序良俗，不得干涉教育、司法、行政职能和社会生活。”除此之外，党的其他重要文件中，也有类似表述。如：《关于新形势下党内政治生活的若干准则》从规范党员政治生活的层面强调了“党员不准搞封建迷信，不准信仰宗教”。《中国共产党统一战线工作条例》的第二十四条明确强调“坚持政教分离”。《关于加强和改进新形势下高校思想政治工作的意见》中明确指出“坚持教育与宗教相分离原则，严禁在高校传播宗教、发展教徒和组织宗教活动”。上述文件专门针对党员、青少年等重点群体进行了着重强调，进一步凸显了宗教活动不得干涉社会生活的重要性。

2. National laws and regulations concerning religion provide important legal guarantees

2.国家有关宗教法律法规提供了重要的法律保障

From the perspective of our country's legal system, the construction of laws concerning religious work has initially formed a relatively comprehensive legal system for religious affairs, with the "Constitution of the People's Republic of China" as the core, the "Regulations on Religious Affairs" as the main body, including laws, administrative regulations, local regulations, departmental rules, and local government rules, basically achieving the goal of having laws to rely on. Laws and regulations such as the "Criminal Law," "Civil Code," "Anti-Terrorism Law," "National Security Law," and "Law on the Administration of Activities of Overseas Non-Governmental Organizations within the Territory of China" also incorporate norms of conduct related to religious activities as important content, providing a legal basis for regulating and adjusting the relationship between religious activities and social affairs. From the supreme law of the land, the Constitution, down to departmental rules, there are relevant provisions targeting "religious activities not interfering with social life." For example, Article 36 of the "Constitution of the People's Republic of China" stipulates that no one may use religion to engage in activities that disrupt social order, impair the health of citizens, or obstruct the state's educational system; Article 4 of the "Regulations on Religious Affairs" stipulates that no organization or individual may use religion to engage in illegal activities such as endangering national security, disrupting social order, impairing citizens' health, obstructing the state's educational system, or other activities that harm national interests, public interests, and the legitimate rights and interests of citizens. The "Measures for the Administration of Internet Religious Information Services," which came into effect on March 1, 2022, in Chapter 3, Article 14, makes ten provisions for providing information on religious doctrines and rules, knowledge and culture, and religious activities to the public via the internet, including not using religion to obstruct the implementation of systems such as national judicature, education, marriage, and social management; not inducing minors to believe in religion or participate in religious activities; and not conducting commercial activities in the name of religion, thereby filling the regulatory gap for religious activities involving social life in the internet domain.

从我国的法律体系看，有关宗教工作的法律建设已初步形成了以《中华人民共和国宪法》为核心，以《宗教事务条例》为主干，包括法律、行政法规、地方性法规、部门规章和地方政府规章在内的比较全面的宗教事务法律制度体系，基本实现有法可依。《刑法》《民法典》《反恐怖主义法》《国家安全法》《境外非政府组织境内活动管理法》等法律法规也将涉及宗教活动的行为规范作为重要内容纳入其中，为规范和调节宗教活动与社会事务的关系提供了法律依据。上至我国的根本大法宪法，下至部门规章，都有针对“宗教活动不得干涉社会生活”的相关条例规定。如《中华人民共和国宪法》第三十六条规定，任何人不得利用宗教进行破坏社会秩序、损害公民身体健康、妨碍国家教育制度的活动；《宗教事务条例》第四条规定，任何组织或者个人不得利用宗教进行危害国家安全、破坏社会秩序、损害公民身体健康、妨碍国家教育制度，以及其他损害国家利益、社会公共利益和公民合法权益等违法活动。2022年3月1日起施行的《互联网宗教信息服务管理办法》第三章第十四条对通过互联网向社会公众提供宗教教义教规、知识文化、宗教活动等信息作出了十条规定，其中就包括不得利用宗教妨碍国家司法、教育、婚姻、社会管理等制度实施；不得诱导未成年人信教或参加宗教活动；不得以宗教名义进行商业活动等，补齐了宗教活动涉及互联网领域社会生活的监管短板。

3. The Realistic Basis for Religious Activities Not to Interfere with Social Life

三、宗教活动不得干涉社会生活的现实依据

The extinction of religion is a long historical process requiring many conditions. Engels pointed out, "When society, by taking possession of all means of production and using them on a planned basis, has freed itself and all its members from the bondage in which they are now held by these means of production which they themselves have produced but which confront them as an irresistible alien force; when therefore man no longer merely proposes, but also disposes — only then will the last alien force which is still reflected in religion vanish." [4]4 This is a quotation from a speech by Xi Jinping at the 2014 Central Conference on Ethnic Work. Before these conditions mature, religion will continue to exist and exert influence on social life. As the sociologist of religion Peter Berger said, "The world is as religious as ever, and in some places more so than before." [5]5 The July 5, 2009 Urumqi riots were a series of violent protests and attacks in Urumqi, Xinjiang, resulting in significant casualties, which the Chinese government attributes to separatist and extremist forces. Using Buddhism, Islam (Hui religion), and Christianity as keywords, the authors have, through professional public opinion collection software, sorted out social public opinion incidents related to religion in recent years. Among them, there are not a few real cases of religious activities interfering with social life, and they show a growing trend, highlighting the practical urgency of implementing the principle that religious activities must not interfere with social life.

宗教的消亡是一个漫长的历史过程，需要具备诸多条件。恩格斯指出，“当社会通过占有和有计划地使用全部生产资料而使自己和一切社会成员摆脱奴役状态的时候，当谋事在人，成事也在人的时候，现在还在宗教中反映出来的最后的异己力量才会消失”。在这些条件成熟之前，宗教还将继续存在，并对社会生活产生影响。正如宗教社会学家彼得·贝格尔所说，“这个世界一如既往地具有宗教性，而且在有些地方更甚于以前”。笔者以佛教、伊斯兰教（回教）、基督教为关键词，通过专业的舆情收集软件梳理了近年来涉宗教的社会舆情事件，其中有关宗教活动干涉社会生活的现实案例并不在少数，且呈现不断增长的态势，彰显了贯彻落实宗教活动不得干涉社会生活的现实紧迫性。

1. Religious infiltration and intervention in various fields of public social life

1.宗教渗透干预社会公共生活各领域

As China becomes increasingly integrated into the world, international religious issues and domestic religious issues intertwine, and new situations and problems in the religious field continue to increase. In multiple fields such as politics, culture, and daily life, traces of religion penetrating and influencing public life through various activities in more covert ways can be found. In the political field, certain religious forces take advantage of the convenience of the internet to incite believers via the network to interfere with government law enforcement. They often first spread a large amount of inflammatory and targeted information on internet platforms, inducing corresponding public opinion to gain the recognition and support of believers, and then induce and mobilize believers to take collective actions such as "online participation" or "offline gatherings" to pressure public power institutions like the government, forcing them to change decisions and actions already made. This not only greatly increases religious issues in the internet domain but also easily triggers mass incidents. For example, the public opinion incidents surrounding the demolition of illegal structures at the "Sanjiang Church" in Zhejiang and the "Grand Mosque" in Weizhou Town, Ningxia, were both triggered by using the banner of "rights defense" to interfere with normal government law enforcement through illegal religious activities. In the field of education, the covert penetration of religious activities is more active, with students having strong psychological needs becoming key targets. Illegal religious groups often disguise themselves as school personnel to infiltrate campuses, distribute flyers, or directly proselytize door-to-door. Some even go so far as to lure students into joining religious exchange groups and participating in religious gatherings by offering gifts in exchange for scanning QR codes. In the fields of culture and daily life, the cultural function of religion is exaggeratedly interpreted. Religion expands its influence through channels such as mass media, the tourism industry, and the cultural industry. For example, the blindly sought-after, sky-high priced "first incense" [6]6 The May 22, 2014 Urumqi attack was a terrorist bombing at a morning market in Urumqi, Xinjiang, causing numerous casualties, for which the Chinese government blamed extremist groups. at religious sites across China on the first day of the Lunar New Year, and internet influencers using religious charity activities for show to gain attention. In short, religion remains very active in modern social life, and its impact on the guiding role of Marxism in the ideological domain and the core socialist values cannot be underestimated.

随着中国日益融入世界，国际宗教问题与国内宗教问题相互交织，宗教领域新情况新问题不断增多。在政治、文化、生活等多个领域，都能发现宗教通过各种活动以更为隐蔽的方式渗透影响公共生活的痕迹。在政治领域，某些宗教势力借互联网之便，通过网络煽动信众干涉政府执法的事件时有发生。他们往往先在互联网平台大量传播鼓动性、针对性信息，诱发相应舆论以获取信众的认同支持，然后诱导动员信众采取“线上参与”或“线下聚集”等集体行动对政府等公权力机构施压，迫使其改变已做出的决策和行为。这不仅大大增加了互联网领域的宗教问题，也容易引发群体性事件。如浙江“三江教堂”、宁夏韦州镇“清真大寺”拆违事件舆情均是借“维权”之名，通过非法宗教活动干涉政府正常执法所引发的。在教育领域，宗教活动的隐性渗透更加活跃，一些心理诉求较为强烈的学生成为重点狙击目标。非法宗教团体通常伪装为校内人员混入校园散发传单或直接上门传教，更有甚者以扫描二维码获得礼品的方式诱骗学生加入宗教交流群、参与宗教集会。在文化和生活领域，宗教的文化功能被夸大化解读，宗教借助大众传媒、旅游产业和文化产业等途径不断扩大影响。如：大年初一我国各地宗教场所中被盲目追捧的天价“头炷香”，网红博主利用宗教慈善活动作秀博关注等。总之，宗教在现代社会生活中仍十分活跃，对马克思主义在意识形态领域指导地位和社会主义核心价值观所带来的影响不容小觑。

2. The disorderly expansion of house churches disrupts the order of public social life

2.家庭教会无序扩张扰乱社会公共生活秩序

Compared with the "Three-Self" churches [1]1 Karl Marx, “Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right: Introduction,” in Marx and Engels Collected Works, vol. 3 (Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1975), p. 175., a considerable portion of house churches are unwilling to proactively register. Although some house churches follow the biblical instruction to "submit to the authorities," the difficulty of registration caused by policy ambiguity has led to a predicament regarding the legality of house churches in real society. This simultaneously places local governments in an "ambiguous" dilemma when managing house churches, inadvertently providing gray space for the disorderly expansion of house churches. There have been cases in public opinion where, due to insufficient awareness of the potential dangers of house churches, ordinary citizens mistakenly participated in illegal house church activities and were detained by public security, leading to feelings of indignation. These incidents have affected the trust of some religious believers in the government, potentially impacting religious harmony and social stability. The disorderly expansion of house churches not only brings many problems to kinship and geographical relationships in rural areas but also plays a negative role in interpersonal relations in urban society. In rural areas, house churches often develop members among the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled, meeting the spiritual needs of believers through a "small community" model, resulting in particularly pronounced religious exclusivity. As a "heterogeneous culture," the demands of house churches conflict with traditional Chinese culture, causing a shock to kinship and geographical ties. Scholars studying the problems of rural churches have pointed out that "in some villages, believers absolutely refuse to participate in folk activities organized by non-believers in the village, and absolutely refuse to participate in the family's ancestral worship activities. This creates estrangement with non-believers, which is particularly prominent in the issue of tomb-sweeping during the Qingming Festival" [2]2 Xi Jinping’s speech at the National Conference on Religious Work, December 2021. The “three teams” refer to Party and government cadres specializing in religious work, representatives of religious circles, and researchers in religious studies., all of which pose challenges to the governance of rural order. In urban areas, there has been an increase in cases of college students participating in house church activities. "Travel evangelism" activities, reimbursed uniformly by the church, have become an effective way for student believers to recruit classmates to join house churches. Some student believers, worried that the daily religious rituals required by house churches would make them incompatible with others, have given up normal social activities; some have even abandoned their political beliefs for religious faith. Furthermore, incidents where parents interfere in their children's marriages on the condition of joining a house church also occur from time to time, reflecting to a certain extent the negative role of the disorderly expansion of house churches in normal social interactions. Only by guiding house churches to develop in a legal, healthy, and orderly direction, and allowing religion to return to religion itself, can the fence of social public order be firmly built.

与“三自”教会相比，家庭教会中有相当一部分不愿意去主动备案。虽然部分家庭教会遵从了圣经所谓的“顺服当权者”指示，但政策的模糊性带来的备案难问题导致了现实社会中家庭教会合法性的困境。这同时也使地方政府在管理家庭教会时陷入“暧昧”难题，无形中为家庭教会的无序扩张提供了灰色土壤。舆情中有多起因民众对家庭教会的潜在隐患认识不够，误参加非法家庭教会活动被公安拘留而感到愤懑的事件。这些事件影响了部分信教群众对政府的信任，潜在影响了宗教和谐与社会稳定。家庭教会的无序扩张不仅给农村的亲缘、地缘关系带来许多问题，也在城市社会人际关系中扮演了消极的角色。在农村地区，家庭教会多在老弱病残中发展成员，以“小共同体”的模式满足信徒精神需求，导致信仰排他性尤为明显。作为“异质文化”，家庭教会的要求与中国传统文化的冲突造成了对亲缘和地缘关系的冲击。有学者在研究农村教会存在的问题时指出，“在一些村子中，信徒决不参与非信徒在村里组织的民俗活动，也决不会参与本家族的祭祖之类的活动。由此与非信徒之间造成了隔阂，这点在清明节上坟问题上尤为突出”，这些都为乡村秩序治理带来挑战。在城市地区，在校大学生参与家庭教会活动的个案增加。由教会统一报销的“旅行传教”活动成为学生信徒吸纳同学加入家庭教会的有效方式。一些学生信徒因担心家庭教会要求的日常宗教仪式与他人格格不入而放弃了正常的社交活动，更有甚者还为宗教信仰放弃了政治信仰。此外，父母以加入家庭教会为条件干预子女婚姻的事件也时有发生，一定程度上体现了家庭教会无序扩张在正常社会交往中扮演的负面角色。只有引导家庭教会向合法、健康、有序的方向发展，让宗教回归宗教本身，才能筑牢社会公共秩序之篱。

3. The Bundling of Ethnic and Religious Issues Endangers Social Public Security

3.民族宗教问题捆绑危害社会公共安全

Religion and ethnicity are two different concepts, but they have a very close relationship. For some time, due to historical and geographical reasons as well as the influence of the domestic and international situation, the two have been increasingly frequently mentioned in the same discourse context. It can also be seen from recent public opinion incidents involving religion that China's current religious issues and ethnic issues are showing a trend of intertwining and bundling. Taking Yunnan Province alone as an example, from 2017 to 2019, there were over a hundred public opinion incidents involving ethnic groups and religion each year. The problems brought about by the bundling of ethnic and religious issues are mainly concentrated in the following areas: First, biased law enforcement in civil disputes. Ethnic and religious issues in China are often linked to "maintaining stability" [3]3 "Maintaining stability" (维稳, wéiwěn) refers to the state's policy of preserving social and political stability, often involving the management of social conflicts.. In some multi-ethnic mixed residential areas, the subjects of civil disputes often involve different ethnic groups, which leads to individual grassroots law enforcement personnel being constrained in their work. Although General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out at the 2014 Central Conference on Ethnic Work that "one cannot hesitate or circumvent issues just because the party's ID card says 'such-and-such ethnicity,' handling them without proper basis," such situations still occur in reality. In public opinion related to such incidents, Han Chinese citizens generally believe that law enforcement personnel, fearing touching the sensitive area of ethnicity and religion, make unfair judgments, violating the principle of equality before the law. "These contradictions and problems, although bearing the label of 'ethnicity,' are not all ethnic issues" [4]4 This is a quotation from a speech by Xi Jinping at the 2014 Central Conference on Ethnic Work.. At the same time, some hostile forces deliberately create opposing "noises" to fan the flames, artificially bundling ordinary civil disputes with ethnic and religious issues maliciously. For ordinary citizens, ethnic and religious issues are already difficult to distinguish, and such incorrect attribution further leads to antagonistic emotions. Second, the intertwining of multiple forces endangers social security. In some areas, religious activities primarily involving members of specific ethnic groups have become political tools for extremist religious forces, terrorist forces, and ethnic separatist forces. For example, the "serious violent crime incident of smashing, looting, burning, and assaulting" that occurred in Urumqi on July 5, 2009 [5]5 The July 5, 2009 Urumqi riots were a series of violent protests and attacks in Urumqi, Xinjiang, resulting in significant casualties, which the Chinese government attributes to separatist and extremist forces., and the "serious violent terrorist incident" that occurred in the same city on May 22, 2014 [6]6 The May 22, 2014 Urumqi attack was a terrorist bombing at a morning market in Urumqi, Xinjiang, causing numerous casualties, for which the Chinese government blamed extremist groups., are both terrorist activities with obvious backgrounds of religious extremism and ethnic separatism. The interference of these activities in China's social life is not only at the micro level of individual life but also affects the macro level of socio-economic development and national security and stability. Religious harmony, social harmony, and ethnic unity are the lifelines for maintaining border security and stability. China's ethnic and religious issues urgently need to be disentangled.

宗教和民族是两个不同的概念，但二者有着非常密切的关系。一段时间以来，由于历史地理原因和国内外形势影响，二者越来越频繁地在同一话语情境中被提及。从近年涉宗教舆情事件中也能看出，我国当下的宗教问题和民族问题呈现交织捆绑的趋势。仅以云南省为例，2017年至2019年每年发生涉民族宗教舆情均超过上百起。民族宗教问题的捆绑带来的问题主要集中在以下几个方面：一是民事纠纷中的执法偏颇。民族宗教问题在我国往往和“维稳”联系在一起。在一些多民族混居地，民事纠纷的主体往往涉及不同民族，这就导致个别基层执法人员在工作中束手束脚。尽管习近平总书记在2014年中央民族工作会议上就曾指出“不能因为当事人身份证上写着‘某某民族’就犯嘀咕、绕着走，处理起来进退失据”，但现实中依然有此类情况发生。相关事件舆情中，汉族群众普遍认为执法人员由于害怕触碰民族宗教这一敏感区，而作出有失公允的处置，违反了法律面前人人平等的原则。“这些矛盾和问题，虽然带着‘民族’字样，但不都是民族问题”。与此同时，部分敌对势力故意制造对立的“杂音”煽风点火，人为地将普通民事纠纷与民族宗教问题恶意捆绑。对普通群众而言，民族宗教问题本就难以区分，这样的错误归因更是导致了对立情绪。二是多股势力交织危害社会安全。在一些地区，以特定民族成员为主体的宗教活动已经成为极端宗教势力、恐怖主义势力、民族分裂势力的政治工具。如：2009年7月5日发生在乌鲁木齐的“打砸抢烧严重暴力犯罪事件”，以及2014年5月22日发生在同一城市的“严重暴力恐怖事件”等，都是带有明显的宗教极端主义、民族分裂主义等背景的恐怖主义活动。这些活动对我国社会生活的干涉不仅是微观层面的个人生活，甚至还影响到了宏观层面的社会经济发展和国家安全稳定。宗教和顺、社会和谐、民族和睦是维护边疆安全稳定的生命线，我国民族宗教问题亟待解绑。

IV. The Practical Path for Religious Activities Not to Interfere with Social Life

四、宗教活动不得干涉社会生活的践行理路

Religion is an important component of society, and religious issues are, to some extent, a reflection of social problems in the religious sphere. Therefore, it is reasonable to incorporate religious governance into the social rule-of-law system and governance system in accordance with the requirements of modernizing national governance. Through sound institutional guarantees and systematic top-level design, we should promote the rule-of-law and modernization of religious governance, effectively preventing religious activities from interfering in social life. At the specific operational level, we should start from aspects such as improving the relevant institutional guarantees related to religion, increasing the degree of practical care for the people, and consolidating the synergistic force of multiple subjects, to truly implement the requirement that "religious activities shall not interfere with social life."

宗教是社会的重要构成，宗教问题某种程度上是社会问题在宗教领域的反映。因此，理应按照国家治理现代化的要求，将宗教治理纳入到社会法治体系和治理体系。通过健全的制度保障和系统的顶层设计推进宗教治理法治化、现代化，有效避免宗教活动对社会生活的干预。在具体操作层面，应从健全涉宗教的相关制度保障、加大对民众的现实关怀力度和凝聚起多元主体的协同合力等方面入手，真正将“宗教活动不得干涉社会生活”这一要求落到实处。

1. Improve the Relevant Institutional Guarantees Related to Religion

1.健全涉宗教的相关制度保障

Currently, the provisions and clauses concerning "religious activities shall not interfere with social life" in the Party's and state's policies, guidelines, laws, and regulations on religious work are not yet fully clear and consistent. This can easily lead to the dilemma of a lack of policy interpretation or ineffective judicial explanation at the practical operational level. Therefore, it is urgently necessary to explicitly write this important thesis that "religious activities shall not interfere with social life" into the Party's and state's policies, guidelines, laws, and regulations on religious work, and to ensure consistency in discourse expression. First, incorporate it as an important theoretical innovation achievement of the Party's religious work in the New Era into the socialist religious theory with Chinese characteristics and institutionalize it. By revising important Party documents on religious work, write General Secretary Xi Jinping's important exposition on "religious activities shall not interfere with social life" into the relevant Party documents, and use it as an important policy basis for guiding the Party's religious work in the New Era. Second, write it into laws and regulations and promote the modernization of the religious governance system and governance capacity on the track of the rule of law. By revising existing laws related to religion, add this content to the existing legal system related to religion, clarifying and detailing "religious activities shall not interfere with social life" as an important part of it; relevant religious management departments should also accelerate the formulation of departmental regulations to eliminate institutional blind spots in some areas of religious affairs. For example, establish management norms for house churches to further regulate the religious activities of house churches. Through the above measures, truly bring religious activities onto a standardized and rule-of-law track, effectively enhancing religious governance capacity and level. Third, establish a governance mechanism for public opinion related to religion. Pay special attention to areas prone to negative public opinion, such as disputes among ethnic minority citizens and overseas religious activities, clear up blind spots in internet religious management, pay attention to advance deployment at sensitive time nodes, and establish a full-process mechanism from early warning to handling. In addition, attention should also be paid to guiding various religious organizations in revising and perfecting their doctrines and canons. In particular, revise the links and content in doctrines and canons that may involve religious activities interfering with social life, restricting the space and scope of religious activities within the framework permitted by laws and regulations.

目前，党和国家有关宗教工作的方针政策和法律法规中有关“宗教活动不得干涉社会生活”的条款规定尚未完全明确和一致。这容易在现实操作层面出现政策解读缺失或司法解释不力的困境。因此，迫切需要将“宗教活动不得干涉社会生活”这一重要论断明确写进党和国家有关宗教工作的方针政策和法律法规中，并在话语表述上做到一致。一是将其作为新时代党的宗教工作重要理论创新成果纳入到中国特色社会主义宗教理论体系中并将其制度化。通过修订党有关宗教工作重要文件的方式，将习近平总书记有关“宗教活动不得干涉社会生活”重要论述写进党的相关文件中，并将其作为指导新时代党的宗教工作的重要政策依据。二是将其写进法律法规并在法治化轨道上推进宗教治理体系和治理能力的现代化。通过修订现有涉宗教法律的方式在现有涉宗教的法律体系中增加这一内容，将“宗教活动不得干涉社会生活”作为其中重要内容予以明确和细化；相关宗教管理部门还要加快制定部门规章，扫除目前宗教事务部分领域的制度盲区。比如建立家庭教会管理规范等，进一步规范家庭教会的宗教活动。通过上述举措真正将宗教活动纳入到规范化和法治化轨道，切实提升宗教治理能力和水平。三是建立有关涉宗教舆情治理机制。尤其要关注少数民族群众纠纷、境外宗教活动等容易等引发负面舆情的领域，扫清互联网宗教管理中的盲区，注意敏感时间节点提前布局，确立一套从预警到处理的全流程机制。此外，还要注重指导各宗教组织对教义教规的修订完善。特别是对教义教规中有可能涉及到宗教活动干涉社会生活的一些环节和内容进行修订，将宗教活动的空间和范围限制在法律法规允许的框架中。

2. Increase the Degree of Practical Care for the People

2.加大对民众的现实关怀力度

Marx pointed out: “The suffering of religion is at once the expression of real suffering and a protest against real suffering. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, just as it is the spirit of spiritless conditions.” [1]1 Karl Marx, “Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right: Introduction,” in Marx and Engels Collected Works, vol. 3 (Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1975), p. 175. The reason religious believers seek refuge in an illusory world is often that they find it difficult to alleviate their material or spiritual distress. Therefore, we should continuously promote high-quality economic development, create better material conditions for social life and richer spiritual and cultural products, and constantly meet the material and spiritual needs of the people. By responding to the people’s practical demands through necessary economic assistance and emotional support, we continuously enhance the people’s sense of gain. Let the care of the Party and the government for the masses always precede religious care, surpassing religious care in both time and space. For groups with different reasons for believing in religion, targeted care strategies should be adopted to improve effectiveness. Relevant academic research shows that the reasons for people’s religious beliefs are complex, mainly including spiritual sustenance, healing and strengthening the body, high social pressure, dissatisfaction with reality, obtaining help, and seeking a sense of belonging. These diverse reasons enlighten us to formulate personalized guidance measures and carry out targeted guidance work. For example, for those who develop religious dependence and establish religious beliefs due to poverty or illness, more comprehensive social security care should be adopted. This can be achieved through various measures such as temporary hardship assistance, assistance in seeking medical treatment, and industrial poverty alleviation to help them escape difficulties and avoid material and emotional dependence on religion. For those who establish religious beliefs due to spiritual reliance, more positive psychological communication platforms need to be built, with emphasis on the infiltration and leading role of socialist culture.

马克思指出：“宗教里的苦难既是现实的苦难的表现，又是对这种现实的苦难的抗议。宗教是被压迫生灵的叹息，是无情世界的情感，正像它是无精神活力的制度的精神一样”。信教群众之所以到虚幻世界中寻找寄托，往往是由于难以纾解物质层面或精神层面的困扰。因此，我们应该通过不断推动经济高质量发展，创造出更美好的社会物质生活条件，更丰富的精神文化产品，不断满足人民群众在物质层面和精神层面的需求。通过必要的经济帮助和情感支持回应人民群众的现实诉求，不断提升人民群众的获得感。让党和政府对群众的关怀始终走在宗教关怀的前面，在时间和空间上超越宗教关怀。针对信教原因不同的人群要采取针对性的关怀策略，提高实效性。学界相关研究表明民众宗教信仰的原因是复杂的，主要有精神寄托、治病强身、社会压力大、对现实不满、获得帮助、寻求归属感等方面的原因。这些多样化的原因启示我们应该制定个性化的引导举措，开展有针对性的引导工作。如对于因贫困或疾病原因而产生宗教依赖和确立宗教信仰的人群要采取更为健全的社会保障关怀，可以通过临时困难救助、协助就医、产业扶贫等多种举措帮助他们走出困境，避免产生对宗教的物质依赖和情感依赖；对于因精神依托而确立宗教信仰的人群则需要搭建更多积极向上的心理沟通平台，注重发挥社会主义文化的浸润和引领作用。

3. Coalescing the Synergistic Force of Multiple Subjects

3.凝聚起多元主体的协同合力

The effective coordination and cooperation of multiple subjects is an effective path for advancing the modernization of national governance. Religious affairs governance is an important component of national governance. Preventing religious activities from interfering with social life is a significant issue in the governance of religious affairs by the Party and the state in the New Era, and its realization equally requires coalescing the force of multiple subjects. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized at the 2021 National Conference on Religious Work: “We must cultivate the ‘three teams’ of Party and government cadres for religious work in the New Era, representative figures from religious circles, and religious studies researchers, and promote the construction of a governance pattern for religious affairs featuring Party committee leadership, government management, social coordination, and religious self-discipline.” [2]2 Xi Jinping’s speech at the National Conference on Religious Work, December 2021. The “three teams” refer to Party and government cadres specializing in religious work, representatives of religious circles, and researchers in religious studies. This important exposition points out the participating subjects for preventing religious activities from interfering with social life. When leveraging the strength of these subjects, we should focus on the following two aspects: First, coalescing the force of research synergy. Religious issues are not only within the scope of religious studies but also require the joint attention of multiple disciplines such as Marxist theory, history, ethnology, sociology, and law. Through interdisciplinary cross-research, while elucidating the theoretical basis for “religious activities not interfering with social life,” we should also do a good job of publicity and popularization. Second, coalescing the force of prevention synergy. The Party committee, government, society, and the religious circles themselves must all fulfill their own responsibilities and firmly guard the boundary between religious activities and social life. Among them, Party and government cadres must not only understand the belief system and behavioral system of religion but also master the knowledge system of religion, enhancing their ability to “guide”; all sectors of society should actively participate, guiding positive and uplifting civilized trends through media publicity, science popularization, and other means; for the religious circles themselves, various religious groups must correctly understand the relationship between religious doctrine and national law, organizing and carrying out religious activities within the framework of policies and laws.

多元主体的有效协作配合，是推进国家治理现代化的有效路径。宗教事务治理是国家治理的重要组成部分，避免宗教活动干涉社会生活是新时代党和国家宗教事务治理工作的重要议题，其实现同样需要凝聚多元主体合力。习近平总书记在2021年全国宗教会议上强调：“要培养好新时代宗教工作党政干部、宗教界代表人士、宗教学研究‘三支队伍’，推动构建党委领导、政府管理、社会协同、宗教自律的宗教事务治理格局”。这一重要论述为避免宗教活动干涉社会生活指明了参与主体。在发挥这些主体力量时，我们应重点做好以下两个方面的工作：一是凝聚研究力量合力。宗教问题不仅仅是宗教学研究范畴，更需要马克思主义理论、历史学、民族学、社会学、法学等多学科的共同关注。通过跨学科交叉研究，在阐释“宗教活动不得干涉社会生活”学理依据的同时做好宣传普及。二是凝聚防范力量合力。党委、政府、社会和宗教界自身都必须履行好自身职责，牢牢守住宗教活动与社会生活的边界。其中，党政干部不但要了解宗教的信仰体系、行为体系，也要掌握宗教的知识体系，提升“导”的能力；社会各界要积极参与，通过媒体宣传、科学普及等方式引导积极向上的文明风尚；对宗教界自身而言，各宗教团体要正确理解教法与国法的关系，在政策和法律框架内组织开展宗教活动。

Online Editor: Rainbow

网络编辑：彩虹