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date: 17 February 2025

Religious Affairs Bureau 

Source:
The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church
Author(s):
Zhe GaoZhe Gao

A functioning department under the State Council of *China responsible for managing religious affairs. It was first created in 1950 as a research group for religious questions under the Government Administration Council and restructured as the Office of Religious Affairs in 1951. When the State Council was established in 1954, it set up the Religious Affairs Bureau under itself. During the Cultural Revolution, the Religious Affairs Bureau was dissolved in 1975, but re-emerged in 1979. In 1998, it was renamed by the State Council as the State Administration of Religious Affairs (SARA). While being a department under the State Council, SARA was always closely connected to the United Front Work Department under the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. This has long been seen by the West as evidence of its assumed duty to oversee the operations of China’s five officially sanctioned religious organizations as well as those of other religious communities. On the other hand, the self-definition of its duties mainly includes advising on religious policies, drafting laws and regulations of religion, managing religious affairs, and instructing religious activities, etc. In 2018, the SARA was abolished and the responsibility for managing religious affairs was given to the United Front Work Department. This has been interpreted by some as part of the Communist Party’s attempt to strengthen its leadership in all areas.... ...

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