The Incorporation and Transformation of Spiritual Education within the State Ideology of the People’s Republic of China

Spiritual education in the People's Republic of China has grown out of concerns for students' holistic development, socialist ideology education, patriotic education, moral cultivation, and traditional Chinese philosophy. Spiritual education is considered as inner development, emotional awareness, moral character and the quest for meaning in Chinese scholars; however, in practice, it tends to appear more and more in the ideological context of the Party-state. The focus of this article is the incorporation and transformation of spiritual education in the state ideology of the People's Republic of China, and how spiritual education has been conceptually translated into moral education, ideological and political education, patriotic education, socialist core values and cultural-confidence discourse. Based on qualitative documentary analysis and an integrative literature review, the study draws on academic works, laws on education, policy documents, teaching practice and research on spiritual education, moral education, Confucian revival, nationalism and ideological-political education in China and uses the descriptive national education statistics from 2024 to provide context to the institutional scale of the education system. Based on the findings, spiritual education has not yet become a field of religious or theological education as a whole in the PRC. Instead, its language and purposes have been turned into state-friendly education goals like moral values, social responsibility, patriotism, national unity, cultural confidence, and dedication to national renewal. Traditional values and norms, particularly those related to self-cultivation, harmony, filial duty and the affection of family country, have been picked up and incorporated into the process with a specific purpose of strengthening socialist citizenship and ideological cohesion. In modern China spiritual education may be understood as an area of moral-political education. It still includes an interest in inner growth, emotional development, moral character and social responsibility, but has been increasingly influenced by the ideology of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party in its institutional form. This situation provides opportunities for holistic education, yet also brings up issues about pluralism, critical thinking, students' autonomy, and moral education and political socialization.