I'm of the understanding that many Chinese families are "spiritual" and believe in "traditions" and "folklore" but institutionalize religion as it is known in the west is not really seen in China.
That's why I wonder if the "oh no it's not religion because the government controls religion" arguments are the author jumping to conclusions.
This in fact seems like the patronizing form of Orientalism: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orientalism
In the sense that we are forcing our Western understanding of religion onto our understanding of Chinese "religion", and then drawing conclusions from there.
I question the validity of the author's claim that a Chinese person said: "oh no it's not religion because the government controls religion" because it's unlikely for a Chinese person to openly talk against the government like that, especially with a foreigner, especially with a stranger.
That's why I wonder if the "oh no it's not religion because the government controls religion" arguments are the author jumping to conclusions.
This in fact seems like the patronizing form of Orientalism: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orientalism In the sense that we are forcing our Western understanding of religion onto our understanding of Chinese "religion", and then drawing conclusions from there.
I question the validity of the author's claim that a Chinese person said: "oh no it's not religion because the government controls religion" because it's unlikely for a Chinese person to openly talk against the government like that, especially with a foreigner, especially with a stranger.