Buddhist Charities and China's Social Policy

An Opportunity for Alternate Civility

Datos Bibliográficos

ID3786359
AutoresAnnie Laliberté (0000-0003-3285-5188, autor de correspondencia), André Laliberté
Año2012
Volumen158
Páginas95-117
Fecha de publicación2012-01-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaArchives de sciences sociales des religions (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0335-5985 • E-ISSN: 1777-5825
EditorialOpenEdition (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.4000/assr.23789
OpenAlexW1587430778
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas4
Referencias citadas21

This paper explores the possibility that Chinese Buddhist institutions can represent a source of alternate civility conducive to a more open political system. The paper starts to explore the issue from a comparative perspective and considers three area of contention between the state and religious authorities in which the latter can advance the interests of society: education, health care, and relief. After a brief survey of social policies and the role granted by the state to religious institutions as providers of services in recent years, the essay considers the philanthropic activities of Buddhist institutions. This survey looks at some of their achievements and their shortcomings, and notes that they have adopted the same cautious attitude as their co-religionists in Taiwan, which may nurture an alternate civility, but does not sustain necessarily political reform

Buddhism · China · Civility · Geography · Humanities · Nature versus nurture · Political science · Politics · Sociology · State (computer science) · Anthropology · Chinese history and philosophy · Law · Public Administration · Religion and Society Interactions