Pic of the Week: Replacing religion with “faith in the state”?

This picture of a China propaganda poster uses the phrase for “have faith” — 有信仰 — in a way that I have always associated with religion, i.e., be a believer (in this or that religion).

Perhaps I am wrong, but this feels like a new usage of the phrase.

Odd for a Party that enforces atheism among its members, and makes ordinary citizens being a practicing Muslim or Christian . . . challenging.

One thought on “Pic of the Week: Replacing religion with “faith in the state”?

  1. I read this a bit differently, though various interpretations are possible.

    Literally it reads:

    The people have faith

    The nation is strong

    The nationalities have hope.

    Why? The photograph provides the answer: it is Xi Jingping (no reference to the Party).

    A difficult issue for me is renmin and minzu.

    Am I incorrect in the translation of renmin and minzu?

    Or does it point to the distinction between the people as a whole and China’s minority nationalities?

    mark

    ms44@cornell.edu

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