Recently, the coronavirus pandemic situation has rebounded in Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province. Local authorities at all levels are enhancing measures to prevent another wave and making every effort to fight against it. However, a small number of people with ulterior motives disregarded facts, made up stories, and spread groundless rumors. The story makers associated the spread of the pandemic with religion, causing great confusion in society. Is the pandemic really related to religion? Let’s look at the facts:
1. Religion within the system - Since the outbreak of the pandemic at the beginning of 2020, there haven’t been large-scale religious gatherings in China, and religious activities in all legal religious sites have stopped. These religious sites are in the hands of officially recognized "patriotic religious groups" and are completely subject to the management of the government. There are no religious activities without government approval in these religious sites. Although outbreaks of different degrees have occurred in many places in China, there is no case where the rate of virus infection among religious believers is significantly higher than that among local non-religious believers.
2. Religion outside the system - Religion outside the system has no open and legal places for activities - no conditions for holding religious activities in public, and it is impossible to maintain regular activities under the strict management and control of the government.
3. Foreign religion - Foreign religious groups completely stopped their contacts with Chinese official religious groups since the outbreak last year, so there hasn’t been any possibility that a large number of foreign religious clergy would come to China for religious activities. During this period, if some people say that foreign religious organizations may have secretly sent personnel to China to carry out illegal religious activities, regardless of the pandemic, thus bringing and spreading the virus from abroad to China through religious activities, then it can only be said that this is an unfounded absurd fantasy. It is a slander on the work of China's national security organs, customs, border inspection, and pandemic prevention departments. Up to now, there hasn’t been a single such case in China.
4. In-bound visitors - Different countries have different pandemic prevention policies, but foreign religions are not the factors that affect the pandemic situation in China. Although a small number of foreigners entered the country during the pandemic, all of them must undergo strict inspection and quarantine. It is impossible for any airport that accepts the landing of an inbound plane to let people who get off the plane directly enter a local place without quarantine.
5. Anti-pandemic struggle - After the outbreak in early 2020, the majority of religious believers throughout the country actively donated money and materials, organized volunteers to support and participated in the anti-pandemic struggle. Their dedication and love have been highly praised by the people in the affected areas. A large number of facts show that Chinese religious believers have contributed to the fight against the pandemic through practical actions at the most critical moment and the moment when the masses needed it most.
The performance of religious believers in the struggle against COVID may be ignored and not made public, but negative rumours against the group should not be made out of nothing, discrediting religions, fabricating and spreading ideas that "religion led to the spread of the pandemic".
January 9, 2021
- Translated by Charlie Li
学者观点| 石家庄疫情与宗教有关吗？
最近，河北石家庄地区的疫情有所反弹，相关地区各级政府正在强化防止疫情反弹的措施，全力以赴与疫情作斗争。但极少数别有用心的人罔顾事实，毫无根据地编造故事、散布谣言，把疫情传播与宗教联系起来，在社会上造成了极大的思想混乱。疫情真的与宗教有关吗？请看事实：
1.体制内宗教——去年年初疫情爆发以来，我国境内已不存在有规模的宗教聚集，所有合法宗教场所的宗教活动已全部停止，这些宗教场所全部掌握在官方认可的“爱国宗教团体”手中，完全服从政府的管理。这些宗教场所中不存在未经政府批准的宗教活动。虽然中国许多地方都发生过不同程度的疫情，但无任何地方存在宗教信徒感染病毒比例明显高于当地非宗教信徒的情况。
2.体制外宗教——体制外宗教没有公开合法的活动场所，没有公开举行宗教活动的条件，不公开不合法的宗教活动场所根本不可能在政府的严密管理控制下维持经常性的宗教活动。
3.外国宗教——外国宗教团体在去年疫情爆发之后就全面停止了与中国官方宗教团体的往来，因此不存在大批外国宗教神职人员来华进行宗教活动的可能。在此期间，如果有人说外国宗教组织可能会不顾疫情的流行，派遣人员秘密来华进行非法宗教活动，并因此将病毒从国外带到了国内，通过宗教信徒的宗教活动扩散了病毒与疫情，只能说这是一种毫无根据的荒诞臆想，是对中国国家安全机关、海关、边检与防疫部门工作的污蔑。迄今为止，国内没有发生过一例这样的案件。
4.入境人员——各国防疫政策不同，但无论松紧，外国宗教都不是影响中国疫情的因素。疫情期间虽然有少量外国人入境，但所有外国入境人员都必须接受严格的检查与隔离，任何一个接受入境飞机降落的机场都不可能让飞机上下来的人不经隔离就直接进入社区、村镇。
5.抗疫斗争——2020年初疫情发生后，全国广大宗教信仰者积极捐款捐物、组织志愿者支持、参与抗疫斗争。他们的奉献与爱心受到了疫区群众的高度赞扬。大量事实表明，中国宗教信徒在国内抗击疫情最关键的时刻、群众最需要的时刻，以实际行动为抗击疫情做出了贡献。
对于宗教信徒在抗击新冠病毒斗争中的表现，可以忽略、不宣传，但不应该无中生有、抹黑宗教，编造和传播“宗教导致疫情扩散”的谣言。
2021年1月9日
学者观点| 石家庄疫情与宗教有关吗？
Recently, the coronavirus pandemic situation has rebounded in Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province. Local authorities at all levels are enhancing measures to prevent another wave and making every effort to fight against it. However, a small number of people with ulterior motives disregarded facts, made up stories, and spread groundless rumors. The story makers associated the spread of the pandemic with religion, causing great confusion in society. Is the pandemic really related to religion? Let’s look at the facts:
1. Religion within the system - Since the outbreak of the pandemic at the beginning of 2020, there haven’t been large-scale religious gatherings in China, and religious activities in all legal religious sites have stopped. These religious sites are in the hands of officially recognized "patriotic religious groups" and are completely subject to the management of the government. There are no religious activities without government approval in these religious sites. Although outbreaks of different degrees have occurred in many places in China, there is no case where the rate of virus infection among religious believers is significantly higher than that among local non-religious believers.
2. Religion outside the system - Religion outside the system has no open and legal places for activities - no conditions for holding religious activities in public, and it is impossible to maintain regular activities under the strict management and control of the government.
3. Foreign religion - Foreign religious groups completely stopped their contacts with Chinese official religious groups since the outbreak last year, so there hasn’t been any possibility that a large number of foreign religious clergy would come to China for religious activities. During this period, if some people say that foreign religious organizations may have secretly sent personnel to China to carry out illegal religious activities, regardless of the pandemic, thus bringing and spreading the virus from abroad to China through religious activities, then it can only be said that this is an unfounded absurd fantasy. It is a slander on the work of China's national security organs, customs, border inspection, and pandemic prevention departments. Up to now, there hasn’t been a single such case in China.
4. In-bound visitors - Different countries have different pandemic prevention policies, but foreign religions are not the factors that affect the pandemic situation in China. Although a small number of foreigners entered the country during the pandemic, all of them must undergo strict inspection and quarantine. It is impossible for any airport that accepts the landing of an inbound plane to let people who get off the plane directly enter a local place without quarantine.
5. Anti-pandemic struggle - After the outbreak in early 2020, the majority of religious believers throughout the country actively donated money and materials, organized volunteers to support and participated in the anti-pandemic struggle. Their dedication and love have been highly praised by the people in the affected areas. A large number of facts show that Chinese religious believers have contributed to the fight against the pandemic through practical actions at the most critical moment and the moment when the masses needed it most.
The performance of religious believers in the struggle against COVID may be ignored and not made public, but negative rumours against the group should not be made out of nothing, discrediting religions, fabricating and spreading ideas that "religion led to the spread of the pandemic".
January 9, 2021
- Translated by Charlie Li
Scholar's Opinion: Is Coronavirus Outbreak in Shijiazhuang Related to Religion?
