Religion in China: neverending search for meaning

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EDITOR'S NOTE: This story is a contribution from Alexander Schwabe, a visiting journalist from Germany's Zeit Online who worked at the Xinhua News Agency for three months as part of a media exchange program. The following article contains his observations on religion in China.

by Alexander Schwabe
BEIJING, Nov. 26 (Xinhua)

28-year-old Wang Yuan doesn't reflect for very long when she is asked about her preferred religion. "Actually nothing," she says.

But as soon as she steps over the threshold of a Buddhist temple, she appears to be as devotional as any other worshipper. She says that the temple gives her a feeling of peace and inner calm.

Her experience and attitude are not unlike those held by religious believers all over the world. Although religious adherents aren't always eager to explain their personal beliefs, they all have a similar desire to discover greater meaning and transcend their Earthbound existence.

China, in accordance with this need, offers freedom of religious belief to all of its citizens.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-11/26/c_131270798.htm