Research Reports
23
JanuaryThis issue of China’s Reform Report Series is Relationship between National Laws and Canons by Feng Yujun, researcher at RUC, NADS.
Introduction
Both religion and law are vital parts of human civilization. As a historical phenomenon of human society in a certain development stage, religion contains multiple elements such as religious belief, religious emotion, religious ritual and religious organization. The commandments and norms (i.e. canon) within religious organizations play a very vital role in restraining the beliefs and behaviors of followers or believers. Laws are made or recognized by the country and executed by the coercive power of the state. They are normative systems reflecting the will of the ruling class. Via the concept design and the behavior guidance of rights-obligations, rights-responsibilities and punishment-motivation, the law allocates resources based on the legal principle, the legal rules and the technical regulations. It reflects value consensus and public will and bears rational spirit and civilization wisdom. In modern countries executing the principles of rule of law and religion-government separation, laws are the basic rules to manage the society, maintain order, promote development and dissolve contradictions. So, the basic relationship between religion and law is as follows: 1. National constitution and laws (i.e. national laws) apply to all social members and all aspects. They have outstanding coerciveness and universal applicable effects. Any religious organizations (including religious norms) and their activities must obey constitutions and laws; 2. Constitution and laws shall protect citizen’s religious freedom. Religious organizations and their activities are quite autonomous and thus have big organization activity space and belief liberty.
In recent years, as China’s socialist market economy develops and foreign exchanges become active, various religious believers have been growing in number, enriching people’s spiritual life and benefiting the development of cultural causes. Religious groups and venues in different regions are also rapidly developing under the protection of religious freedom as per the constitution. Their social influence is also growing. However, despite the harmonious and complementary aspects between national laws and religions, in certain situations, conflicts can often happen too. For example, in the Quannengshen murder case in Zhaoyuan, Shandong, cult members intentionally killed people at a McDonald’s restaurant in Zhaoyuan, Shandong and used cults to dishonor the law and commit crime, severely damaging the life and property of the public. The society felt deeply shocked by the extremely violent behavior of cult organizations and have clearly realized the huge danger posed by such cults in spreading superstitions and interrupting social order. Another example happened in Zhejiang Province. When promoting the campaign of “three changes and one split”, a small number of “house church” personnel and some followers failed to realize their illegal behaviors in building churches and relevant facilities against laws and regulations. Moreover, they resisted the authority to perform legal duties under the banner of religious freedom. Such misunderstandings towards the relationship between national laws and canons and the consequences can be quite serious.
So, how to correctly perceive the relationship between religious norms and national laws and fully perform religious freedom rights as per laws is a question that cannot be avoided if we are to ensure religious freedom as per laws and regulate religious activities. In the historical process where China is deepening reforms and building a well-off society according to the “Four Comprehensives” strategic layout, to study and take good care of issues concerning national laws and cannons is of great academic and practical significance to promoting modern state governance system and capacity, building a harmonious and stable society and achieving good governance.
To further discuss this key theoretical issue, RUC NADS and the Law School co-sponsored the 2015 meeting for commenting public policy with the theme being “Relationship between National Law and Canon” (undertaken by the Center for Research on Social Transition and Governance, RUC NADS). The meeting was held in room 601, the international academic hall at Mingde Law Building on the night of June 17, 2015.5 religious leaders, including Zongxing, Vice President of the Buddhist Association of China and Abbot of Wenshu Monastery in Chengdu, Yuan Zhihong, Deputy Secretary General of the Chinese Taoist Association and Abbot of Dongyue Temple in Beijing, Guo Chengzhen, Vice President and Secretary General of China Islamic Association and CPPCC Member, Liu Yuanlong, Vice Chairman and Secretary General of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association and CPPCC Member, and Cai Kui, Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement of Protestant Churches in China and Beijing CPPCC Member, were invited as guest speakers. Han Dayuan, Dean of the Law School of RUC, Zhang Fenglei, Executive Dean of the Advanced Institute for Religious Studies of RUC; He Jianming, Professor with the School of Philosophy of RUC and Director of the Center for Taoist Studies, Zhu Jingwen, Professor of the Law School of RUC and Chairman of the Academic Committee, Zhang Zhiming, Professor of the Law School of RUC and Director of the Center for Basic Studies of Law of RUC, and Mo Yuchuan, Professor of the Law School of RUC and Executive Director of Constitutionalism and the Rule of Law Research Center of RUC were invited as guest dialogist. Prof. Feng Yujun with the Center for Research on Social Transition and Governance of RUC NADS presided over the meeting. During the meeting, 5 religious leaders and 5 notable scholars of law and religious studies expressed their views about the relationship between national laws and cannons, had in-depth discussions and rendered fruitful theoretical achievements.
This special research report, having combined speeches made by the religious leaders, experts and professors at the meeting for commenting public policy, conducts research from the following five theoretical perspectives: seen from a historical dimension, development of law and religion share a complicated convergence-separation relationship; rediscovery of the meaning linkage between law and religion from the angle of addressing modern crisis; examination of the relationship between law and religion from the angle of legal belief; emphasis on the separation between law and religion from the angle of constitutional system; analysis of national law existing in China’s current religious management system from the angle of China’s state governance. On such a basis, this report offers the following four conclusions as to the relationship between national laws and canons: (1) they share common historical origins and certain uniformity. However, as the ancient society transforms into a modern and contemporary society and with the establishment of the government-religion separation principle, national laws and canons become separate from each other and adjust on their own terms, demonstrating an overall relationship featured by “(national) laws leading and religious (canons) following”; (2) law and religion are rather different as to generation and realization model, sanction procedure, form of norms and stability. Contents, forms and procedures of religious norms should advance with the time by responding to social development demands and be carried out within the adjustment scope of law. When in conflict with each other, law enjoys priority; (3) national laws and canons are both complementary and replaceable to each other. Their complementarity and uniformity of ideas help achieve a harmonious and stable society while their opposition and replacement produce political and religious conflicts. Acting as social norms (“soft law”), canons are of great significance to the cultivation of the civil society; (4) China’s religious affairs management system and legal system are yet to be improved and the boundary between national laws and canons should be further defined in a technical manner. The attachment summarized the key arguments at the “seminar on the relationship between national laws and cannons” from nine aspects.
In the end, the report particularly points out that, to study and handle the relationship between national laws and canons well, we should, in the areas of human rights, constitutionalism, history, philosophy, sociology, comparative law, science of religion and legislative science and from multiple levels such as theory and practice & policy and legislation, further discuss the nature of law and religion and their research methodology, compare social models with different law-religion relationships and learn from advanced cultures and systems at all times and in the world. Particularly, we should discuss the history and future of religion-law relationship in China, excavate religious culture, ethics and morals with Chinese characteristics and investigate religious freedom, religious tolerance and government-religion separation systems suitable to China so as to promote China’s sustainable economic development, long-term social peace and order and improvement of modern rule of law.