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Religion in Inner Mongolia
Religion in Inner Mongolia is characterised by the diverse traditions of Mongolian-Tibetan Buddhism, Chinese Buddhism, the Chinese traditional religion including the traditional Chinese ancestral religion, Taoism, Confucianism and folk religious sects, and the Mongolian native religion. The region is inhabited by a majority of Han Chinese and a substantial minority of Southern Mongols (the Mongols of China), so that some religions follow ethnic lines.
According to a survey held in 2004 by the Minzu University of China, about 80% of the population of the region practice the worship of Heaven (that is named Tian in the Chinese tradition and Tenger in the Mongolian tradition) and of aobao. Official statistics report that 12.1% of the population (3 million people) are members of Tibetan Buddhist groups. According to the Chinese Spiritual Life Survey of 2007 and the Chinese General Social Survey of 2009, Christianity is the religious identity of 2% of the population of the region and the Chinese ancestral religion (traditional lineage churches) is the professed belonging of 2.36%, while a demographic analysis of the year 2010 reported that Muslims comprise the 0.91%.
Mongolian Buddhism, which is of the same schools of Tibetan Buddhism, was the dominant religion in Inner Mongolia until the 19th century. Its monastic institution was virtually eradicated during the Cultural Revolution, that was particularly tough against the political power of the lamas. Since the 1980s there has been a modest revival, with the reconstruction of some important monasteries and new smaller temples.
At the same time, there has been an unprecedented development of Mongolian shamanism, especially centered on the cult of Genghis Khan and the Heaven, the former being traditionally considered an embodiment of Heaven itself, in special temples (many of which yurt-style), and the cult of aobao as ancestral shrines. The cult of Genghis is also shared by the Han Chinese, claiming his spirit as the founding principle of the Yuan dynasty.
In facts, there has been a significant integration of the Han Chinese of Inner Mongolia into the traditional Mongolian spiritual heritage of the region. Reconstructed Buddhist monasteries and folk temples are massively attended by local Han. Moreover, as elsewhere in China, there has been a growing conscious adoption of the Gelug sect, and other Tibetan-originated Buddhist schools, by the Han Chinese.
Buddhism (which in Mongolian language is named Burkhany Shashin, "Buddha's religion", or Shira-in Shashin, the "Yellow religion") was spread to the Mongols during the Yuan dynasty, under the reign of Kublai Khan, when Tibetan lamas of the Sakya sect were active at the court. However, in this period Buddhism didn't penetrate among the general population, and its influence greatly diminished with the fall of the Yuan dynasty.
In the 17th century the Gelug sect became dominant in Mongolian Buddhism. It was during the Manchu Qing dynasty that Buddhism among the Mongols reached its peak. With the state's support, it was in this period that most of the Mongolian Buddhist monasteries and institutes were constructed. Inner Mongolia was the centre of Mongolian Buddhism; in the 19th century, of the approximately 2000 monasteries in Greater Mongolia, 1200 were in Inner Mongolia, and 700 were in Outer Mongolia (corresponding to the contemporary state of Mongolia). By 1900, of the 243 incarnate lamas living in the territories of the Mongols, 157 resided in Inner Mongolia alone. The Qing politics draw the most important of these lamas to the capital at Beijing.
However, with the demise of the Qing and the strong influences of modernisation in Inner Mongolia, including the "Enlightenment Movement"[clarification needed] and secular education, in the late 19th century and early 20th century Mongolian Buddhism underwent a decline. The situation became worse during the Cultural Revolution of China, in which religious expression was prohibited. More than ninety percent of the Buddhist monasteries in Inner Mongolia were destroyed in the early years of the revolution.
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Religion in Inner Mongolia
Religion in Inner Mongolia is characterised by the diverse traditions of Mongolian-Tibetan Buddhism, Chinese Buddhism, the Chinese traditional religion including the traditional Chinese ancestral religion, Taoism, Confucianism and folk religious sects, and the Mongolian native religion. The region is inhabited by a majority of Han Chinese and a substantial minority of Southern Mongols (the Mongols of China), so that some religions follow ethnic lines.
According to a survey held in 2004 by the Minzu University of China, about 80% of the population of the region practice the worship of Heaven (that is named Tian in the Chinese tradition and Tenger in the Mongolian tradition) and of aobao. Official statistics report that 12.1% of the population (3 million people) are members of Tibetan Buddhist groups. According to the Chinese Spiritual Life Survey of 2007 and the Chinese General Social Survey of 2009, Christianity is the religious identity of 2% of the population of the region and the Chinese ancestral religion (traditional lineage churches) is the professed belonging of 2.36%, while a demographic analysis of the year 2010 reported that Muslims comprise the 0.91%.
Mongolian Buddhism, which is of the same schools of Tibetan Buddhism, was the dominant religion in Inner Mongolia until the 19th century. Its monastic institution was virtually eradicated during the Cultural Revolution, that was particularly tough against the political power of the lamas. Since the 1980s there has been a modest revival, with the reconstruction of some important monasteries and new smaller temples.
At the same time, there has been an unprecedented development of Mongolian shamanism, especially centered on the cult of Genghis Khan and the Heaven, the former being traditionally considered an embodiment of Heaven itself, in special temples (many of which yurt-style), and the cult of aobao as ancestral shrines. The cult of Genghis is also shared by the Han Chinese, claiming his spirit as the founding principle of the Yuan dynasty.
In facts, there has been a significant integration of the Han Chinese of Inner Mongolia into the traditional Mongolian spiritual heritage of the region. Reconstructed Buddhist monasteries and folk temples are massively attended by local Han. Moreover, as elsewhere in China, there has been a growing conscious adoption of the Gelug sect, and other Tibetan-originated Buddhist schools, by the Han Chinese.
Buddhism (which in Mongolian language is named Burkhany Shashin, "Buddha's religion", or Shira-in Shashin, the "Yellow religion") was spread to the Mongols during the Yuan dynasty, under the reign of Kublai Khan, when Tibetan lamas of the Sakya sect were active at the court. However, in this period Buddhism didn't penetrate among the general population, and its influence greatly diminished with the fall of the Yuan dynasty.
In the 17th century the Gelug sect became dominant in Mongolian Buddhism. It was during the Manchu Qing dynasty that Buddhism among the Mongols reached its peak. With the state's support, it was in this period that most of the Mongolian Buddhist monasteries and institutes were constructed. Inner Mongolia was the centre of Mongolian Buddhism; in the 19th century, of the approximately 2000 monasteries in Greater Mongolia, 1200 were in Inner Mongolia, and 700 were in Outer Mongolia (corresponding to the contemporary state of Mongolia). By 1900, of the 243 incarnate lamas living in the territories of the Mongols, 157 resided in Inner Mongolia alone. The Qing politics draw the most important of these lamas to the capital at Beijing.
However, with the demise of the Qing and the strong influences of modernisation in Inner Mongolia, including the "Enlightenment Movement"[clarification needed] and secular education, in the late 19th century and early 20th century Mongolian Buddhism underwent a decline. The situation became worse during the Cultural Revolution of China, in which religious expression was prohibited. More than ninety percent of the Buddhist monasteries in Inner Mongolia were destroyed in the early years of the revolution.