Buddhism in China

“Buddhism Could Now Be the 2nd Largest Spiritual Path with 1.6 Billion,” shouts a recent headline in Buddha Weekly.* Counting the world’s Buddhist population has resulted in extremely different results, ranging from as low as 400 million to as high as 1.6 billion, which would make it even with Islam as the second largest religion in the world.
 
China is the primary difference-maker in this statistic. Religion in China is greatly tempered by secularism and Confucianism, which is a system of ethics stressing ancestor worship, reverence for parents, and harmony in thought and conduct. However, Buddhist scholars maintain that the primary Buddhist beliefs (karma, merit, reincarnation, and mindfulness) still form the foundational worldview of up to 80% of China’s population.
 
The Buddha Weekly article goes on to state, “China Officially Supports Buddhism,” claiming that “Now, with freedoms returning, there are over 28,000 Buddhist monasteries, 16,000 temples and 240,000 Buddhist monks and nuns” throughout China.
 
While Buddhism may be reviving in China, the gospel is doing so in even greater measure. Witness and prayer led to the incredible testimony of a Chinese woman, Sister Mei, who encountered Jesus during a near-death experience. She was rescued from drowning by someone with holes in his hands and heart and began a search for him that ended when she read the New Testament. Millions of Chinese need our prayer to Change The Map for Jesus Christ.