Буддийская ассоциация Китая: государственный контроль и влияние

State sanctioned organisation in charge of Buddhists in China

The Buddhist Association of China (BCA) is the official government supervisory organ of Buddhism in the People's Republic of China. The association has been overseen by the United Front Work Department (UFWD) of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) since the State Administration for Religious Affairs' absorption into the UFWD in 2018. The association's headquarters are located in Guangji Temple in Beijing.

The BCA is charged with serving as a "bridge" linking Buddhists to the CCP and Chinese government by communicating government regulations to Buddhists and mobilizing them to comply with national laws. It also coordinates participation of Chinese Buddhists in international Buddhist fora as a form of state influence. It also supports local Buddhist associations in paying clerics' salaries, in registering temples with the government, and in productively using temple labor. The association publishes a journal, Chinese Buddhism.

The Buddhist Association of China was founded on 30 May 1953, and was disbanded in the late 1960s during the Cultural Revolution, then reactivated following the end of that period. The BCA was one of five such religious groups, which also included the Islamic Association of China, the Chinese Taoist Association, the Three Self Patriotic Movement, and the Catholic Patriotic Association. In 2006, The BCA and the Hong Kong Buddhist Association hosted the second World Buddhist Forum for dialogue between Buddhist monks and scholars from 50 countries and regions. The forum lasted for four days in the city of Wuxi in Jiangsu province. The organizer of events was the president of the BCA, Venerable Master Yicheng. The vice president is Gyaincain Norbu, a disputed 11th Panchen Lama. In 2017 the BCA declared the longstanding tradition that the first offering of incense of the new year are particularly auspicious to have no grounds in Buddhist doctrine. In 2018, the BCA's parent organization, the State Administration for Religious Affairs, was absorbed into the CCP's United Front Work Department. In February 2023, the BCA launched a searchable database of official practitioners.