The National Religious Affairs Administration (NRAA), formerly the State Administration for Religious Affairs (SARA), is an external name of the

United Front Work Department The United Front Work Department (UFWD) is a department of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) tasked with " united front work". It gathers intelligence on, manages relations with, and attempts to gain influence over ...

of the Central Committee of the

Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...

(CCP). Formerly, SARA was an executive agency directly under the

State Council of the People's Republic of China The State Council of the People's Republic of China, also known as the Central People's Government, is the chief administrative authority and national cabinet. It is constitutionally the highest administrative organ of the country and the e ...

which oversaw religious affairs in the country. In 2018, the agency and its functions were merged into the United Front Work Department. The names of the former agency were retained by the United Front Work Department as external names under the system called "

one institution with two names "One institution with two names" () is a bureaucratic arrangement in the Government of China, Chinese government wherein a government agency exists in name only, and its functions are in practice performed by another agency or a Chinese Communist ...

History

Originally created in 1951 as the Religious Affairs Bureau, the State Administration for Religious Affairs was closely connected with the

(UFWD) and charged with overseeing the operations of China's five officially sanctioned religious organizations: *

Buddhist Association of China The Buddhist Association of China (BCA, zh, 中国佛教协会) is the official government supervisory organ of Buddhism in the People's Republic of China. The association has been overseen by the United Front Work Department (UFWD) of the Centra ...

Chinese Taoist Association Chinese Taoist Association (CTA; ), founded in April 1957, is the official government supervisory organ of Taoism in the People's Republic of China. History In 1980, the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party approved a request by t ...

Islamic Association of China The Islamic Association of China ( Uyghur: جۇڭگو ئىسلام دىنى جەمئىيىتى) is the official government supervisory organ for Islam in the People's Republic of China. The association is controlled by the United Front Work De ...

Three-Self Patriotic Movement The Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM; ) is the official government supervisory organ for Protestantism in the People's Republic of China. It is colloquially known as the Three-Self Church (). The National Committee of the Three-Self Patrio ...

(Protestant) *

Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association The Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (CCPA) is the national organization for Catholicism in the People's Republic of China. It was established in 1957 after a group of Chinese Catholics met in Beijing with officials from the Chinese Commun ...

The State Administration for Religious Affairs was established to exercise control over religious appointments, the selection of clergy, and the interpretation of religious doctrine. State Administration for Religious Affairs was also meant to ensure that the registered religious organizations support and carry out the policy priorities of the CCP. For instance, SARA has maintained a "living Buddha database" to track prominent Tibetan Buddhists who are loyal to the CCP.

Ye Xiaowen Ye Xiaowen (; born August 1950) is a Chinese politician who held various top posts relating to state regulation of religion in China from 1995 to 2009. In 1995, Ye became the director of the Bureau of Religious Affairs under the State Council. ...

directed the SARA from 1995 to 2009. During his tenure, he issued the

State Religious Affairs Bureau Order No. 5 State Religious Affairs Bureau Order No. 5 (), officially named Measures on the Management of the Reincarnation of Living Buddhas in Tibetan Buddhism (), is an order passed during a conference of the State Administration for Religious Affairs on 13 ...

, which furthered state control over

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the Philosophy, philosophical or Religion, religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new lifespan (disambiguation), lifespan in a different physical ...

s in

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet, Bhutan and Mongolia. It also has a sizable number of adherents in the areas surrounding the Himalayas, including the Indian regions of Ladakh, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, D ...

, and attempted to suppress underground Catholics loyal to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

(which he considered "colonial") and not to the government-sanctioned

. After Ye was promoted to the Secretary of the CCP Committee at the

Central Institute of Socialism The Central Institute of Socialism (CIS) is the higher education institution in China which trains cadres from the eight minor political parties and those not affiliated with political parties. A united front organ, it is organized by the United ...

, the former Deputy Director

Wang Zuo'an Wang Zuo'an (; born May 1958) is a Chinese politician who served as director of the State Administration for Religious Affairs and vice-minister of the United Front Work Department from 2009 to 2022. He was an alternate member of the 18th Centra ...

was promoted to Director.宗教局長換人專家指政策不變
(New Chairman for SARA, Experts Says Policy Has Not Changed),

Ming Pao ''Ming Pao'' () is a Chinese-language newspaper published by Media Chinese International in Hong Kong. In the 1990s, ''Ming Pao'' established four overseas branches in North America; each provides independent reporting on local news and coll ...

, 18 September 2009. In 2018, that NRAA was merged into the UFWD as part of the "

deepening the reform of the Party and state institutions The deepening the reform of the Party and state institutions ( zh, , p=Shēnhuà dǎng hé guójiā jīgòu gǎigé, s=深化党和国家机构改革) was a large-scale reform of the institutions of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Peopl ...

Leadership

Directors

Religious Issues Research Group of the Cultural and Educational Committee of the State Council

Religious Affairs Department of the Cultural and Educational Committee of the State Council

Religious Affairs Bureau

State Administration of Religious Affairs

References

External links

* {{Authority control Government agencies of China Religion in China State Council of China Year of establishment missing United Front Work Department Religious affairs ministries United front (China) One institution with multiple names