A Study on the Internet Use of Religions in China
현재 중국은 사회안정, 민족단결, 국가통일, 사회주의를 수호한다는 명분으로 인터넷의 민주적 기능을 엄격히 통제하고 강력한 검열시스템으로 관리하고 있다. 마찬가지로 종교에도 법치의 관철을 강조하며 규제를 강화하고 있다. 따라서 지금 중국에서 인터넷과 종교는 갈등의 현장이자 해결을 기다리는 모순이라고 할 수 있고 이 현상에 대한 이해와 파악이 필요하다. 본 논문은 우선 중국 인터넷의 발전에 따라 강화되어온 인터넷종교 유관정책들의 변화 추이를 살펴보고, 그런 다음 필자가 두 해 정도 온라인에서 주시해 왔던 중국 인터넷종교의 활동양상을 고찰했다. 그 활동주체에 따라서 4단계로 나누어 당정이 내놓은 인터넷종교 정책에 순응하거나 경계하는 양상을 살펴보았다.
The Internet and religion are very sensitive topics to deal with in China. They control democratic function of the Internet internally as well as operate the screening system externally in the name of defending social stability, ethnic solidarity, national unity and socialism. Religion is no exception. The subject of this study is online religious activities in China. The study explores online and mobile religious activities in China and also includes ones outside the Chinese territory that Chinese government have blocked search internally. Online religious activities in China are classified into 4types depending on the service provider. First, there are websites that the State Administration of Religious Affairs, the department of local religious affairs and patriotic religious groups and their affiliated places opened. We can read the direction of the Chinese religious policy. Secondly, you can find religion-related Web pages opened by the portal, communities such as BBS and the personal internet accounts run by a religious worker or a believer on social media platform like WeiBo and WeChat. Lastly, there are anti-government religious online media run by religious extremists or the heretic. They engage in guerrilla activities to avoid internet censorship or set up a website on an overseas network. They usually aim resistance to Chinese religious policy. Therefore we can see another possibility of Chinese religion in the future.