iceberg of demand for such projects. From the 1980s on, more and more young
people have become so interested in observing Christmas and in sending
Christmas gifts that if foreigners visited a supermarket or department store
during that time they might think they were in a Christian country. Further-
more, one can attend seminars, lectures, or conferences dealing with religion
on the campuses of scores of universities.
The influence of religious studies has reached even into religious circles. As
more and more young believers have widened and deepened their understanding
of their own faiths through reading the publications in the field, some religious
leaders have developed a high appreciation for the work of scholars and for
its contribution to their efforts to improve the quality of belief. In short, since
the government-sanctioned religious organizations and so-called underground
churches are quite limited in spreading their influence, it is natural and necessary
for the religious influence upon society to come mostly from religious studies
and its results. This influence may not be immediate or apparent, but I believe
that it will certainly be far-reaching in the development of Chinese society.
Problems along the way. Just as the revival and development of religions
in contemporary China can be considered a miracle, the revival and achieve-
ments of religious studies in China can be seen in the same way. But we should
not ignore the many problems confronting religious studies in China at the
beginning of the twenty-first century.
(a) Owing to the effects of past experiences, many people still see religious
studies as a ‘subtle’ or sensitive field. Many scholars think that the study of
antiquity is safer than the study of the contemporary world, and that the study
of history is safer than the study of theory. Therefore, the development of
religious studies lacks balance. It places too much stress on the history of
religion, too little stress on more modern and theoretical studies, and even less
on the studies of contemporary religious situations. Some branch disciplines,
such as psychology of religion and phenomenology of religion, are still waiting
for a mere beginning.
(b) The quality of academic work, as a whole, needs to be improved. Even
in the history of religions, which makes up the most fruitful field, a lot of
publications content themselves with summarizing source materials and telling
stories. Some authors just copy from one another, although others share new
findings and understanding.
(c) There is a serious lack of young researchers. This results from the limited
enrollment of students, owing to the national education systems, and the even
smaller number of graduates who can find jobs in research institutions, owing
to limitations in the development of the faculties concerned. To add to the
difficulty with regard to personnel, financial support does not meet the research
demand, and this in turn exacerbates the lack of resources. So the prospects
for the further growth of religious studies in China would seem to be quite
poor.174
HE GUANGHU, CHUNG CHIN-HONG, AND LEE CHANG-YICK