Chinese Buddhist, Taoist temples warned against profit making

Beijing, Nov 23 (IANS) Buddhist and Taoist temples in China received government instructions on Thursday, warning them against seeking profits in the name of religion.

A guideline to regulate commercial activities in Buddhist and Taoist temples was jointly issued by 12 departments including the State Administration of Religious Affairs (SARA), reports Xinhua news agency.

The document reminded Buddhist and Taoist temples of their nature as non-profit organisations and forbade any organisation or individual from profiting from religious activities.

Although temples are allowed to engage in commercial activities, such as publishing books or selling religious objects and artwork, the activities should be for maintenance and operation of temples or for charity programmes, said a SARA statement.

SARA decided to tighten supervision on financial management of temples, asking them to adopt the same systems of finance, tax, asset management and accounting as non-religious institutions.

Temples should register at taxation authorities and report their revenues and expenditures according to the law, the document said.

Promoting religion online will also be subject to government regulation, the document said.

Tourist sites known for their religious significance are banned from charging high entrance fees and local governments are discouraged from erecting unnecessarily large religious idols and building temples in non-religious locations for the sake of attracting tourists.

Effort will be made to minimize air pollution and fire risks from incense burning.

"The problem of some temples being too commercialized will affect the healthy development of the two religions, compromise social morals and trigger corruption," said the guideline.

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