National Religious Affairs Administration

The National Religious Affairs Administration (NRAA), formerly the State Administration for Religious Affairs (SARA), is an external name of the United Front Work Department of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

In 1954, the Religious Affairs Bureau was established. It was abolished in 1975 amidst the Cultural Revolution. It was re-established in 1979 and was renamed to the State Administration for Religious Affairs in 1998. Formerly, SARA was an executive agency directly under the State Council of the People's Republic of China which oversaw religious affairs in the country. In 2018, during a series of institutional reforms, the agency and its functions were merged into the United Front Work Department. The names of the former agency were retained by the United Front Work Department as external names under the system called "one institution with two names".

History

Originally created in 1951 as the Religious Affairs Bureau (RAB), the State Administration for Religious Affairs was closely connected with the United Front Work Department (UFWD) and charged with overseeing the operations of China's five officially sanctioned religious organizations:

Buddhist Association of China Chinese Taoist Association Islamic Association of China Three-Self Patriotic Movement (Protestant) Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association Under the direction of the UFWD, the RAB was a body with which all religious groups in China had to register in order to obtain their legal status.

Xiao Xianfa directed the RAB from 1961 to 1965. The RAB was criticized during the Cultural Revolution. It was abolished in 1975.

In April 1979, the RAB was re-established with Xiao back as its director. RAB's responsibilities were "to protect the freedom of religious beliefs of Chinese citizens as required by law, safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of religious groups and the venues of their activities, ensure the religious leaders can conduct regular religious activities, and ensure citizens who wish to do so can take part in regular religious activities" and to "prevent and curb illegal, irregular, and illegitimate activities under the guise of religion."

In 1998, the RAB was re-established as the State Administration for Religious Affairs (SARA). SARA was established to oversee religious appointments, the selection of clergy, and the interpretation of religious doctrine. State Administration for Religious Affairs was also meant to ensure that the registered religious organizations support and carry out the policy priorities of the CCP.Congressional-Executive Commission on China, Top Leaders Praise the Work of China's "Patriotic Religious Organizations" , 10 March 2010. For instance, SARA has maintained a "living Buddha database" to track prominent Tibetan Buddhists who are loyal to the CCP.

Ye Xiaowen directed the SARA from 1995 to 2009. During his tenure, he issued the State Religious Affairs Bureau Order No. 5, which furthered state control over reincarnations in Tibetan Buddhism, and attempted to suppress underground Catholics loyal to Rome (which he considered "colonial") and not to the government-sanctioned Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association. After Ye was promoted to the Secretary of the CCP Committee at the Central Institute of Socialism, the former Deputy Director Wang Zuo'an was promoted to Director. (New Chairman for SARA, Experts Says Policy Has Not Changed), Ming Pao, 18 September 2009. In 2018, that NRAA was merged into the UFWD as part of a series of institutional reforms.

Leadership

Directors

Religious Issues Research Group of the Cultural and Educational Committee of the State Council NameChinese nameTook officeLeft officeShao QuanlinAugust 1950January 1951

Religious Affairs Department of the Cultural and Educational Committee of the State Council NameChinese nameTook officeLeft officeHe ChengxiangJanuary 19511954

Religious Affairs Bureau NameChinese nameTook officeLeft officeHe Chengxiang1954March 1961Xiao XianfaMarch 19611975Bureau Disestablished19751979Xiao XianfaApril 197918 August 1981Qiao Liansheng19821983Ren Wuzhi19831992Zhang Shengzuo19921995Ye XiaowenMay 1995March 1998 State Administration of Religious Affairs NameChinese nameTook officeLeft officeYe XiaowenMarch 1998September 2009Wang Zuo'anSeptember 2009June 2022Cui Maohu7 June 202218 March 2023Chen Ruifeng20 March 2023Incumbent

National Religious Affairs Administration

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