Still, a recent U.S. report on religious freedom slammed the Chinese government for restricting practice to state-sanctioned groups and registered places of worship. Only five religions are officially recognized: Buddhism, Taoism, Roman Catholicism, Protestantism and Islam. The government itself is promoting a revival of Confucius—a philosopher all but purged from Chinese society by Mao. Beijing plans to establish 500 Confucius institutes by 2010. Membership in the Communist Party, though, still forbids any religious practice.
