Atheism and agnosticism in twenty-first-century China

This paper presents findings from a multi-method study of atheism and agnosticism—grouped here as nontheism—in contemporary China, conducted as part of a research program exploring the nature and varieties of nontheism across six countries. Unlike the naturalistic and antireligious forms of atheism prominent in many Western contexts, nontheism in China is characterized by high engagement with supernatural beliefs, low antireligious sentiment, and weak attachment to nontheistic worldviews and identities. When Chinese nontheists self-identify as atheists, such identification often appears situational, strategic, and linked to social or political expectations. We argue that nontheism in China tends to operate less as an ideological stance and more as a pragmatic orientation embedded in social relationships and instrumental concerns. This mode of nontheism, we suggest, reflects a sociocultural environment in which nontheists—aside from the occasional need to signal adherence to state-endorsed atheism—face little pressure or incentive to develop nontheistic positions.