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Although the subject of religious freedom in China has appeared frequently in international news and human rights reports, it has been understudied by academic scholars. To follow the principle of shi shi qiu shi (to seek truth in facts, as promoted by Deng Xiaoping since the late 1970s as a new Chinese Communist policy principle), scholarly research ought to find facts and to develop theoretical explanations of the facts. Research does not have to become “political” in the narrow sense of antagonism or holding an ideological position. Rather it would be political in the best sense of politics, which is of, relating to, or concerned with the public interest. The conceptual, regulatory, and civil society dimensions of religious freedom would be particularly fruitful research areas in China today.
Fenggang Yang (Sat,) studied this question.