This is a study of the rapid development of religious beliefs and practices among middle-class Chinese in an urban environment. Its focus is recently arrived residents in the Special Economic Zone of Shenzhen on the border between mainland China and Hong Kong. Its findings indicate that the dynamics of economic modernization in Shenzhen have not led to a demise of religiousness. A current cohort of Shenzhen residents, having moved beyond an initial struggle for economic survival, now consciously confronts deeper questions of personal meaning. These residents are turning for spiritual nourishment to the deep resources of China's traditional spiritual heritage adopted and adapted to meet the demands of their new life context.
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Fan et al. (2005) studied this question.