Contents -- Notes on Contributors -- Introduction: Opiate of the Masses with Chinese Characteristics: Recent Chinese Scholarship on the Meaning and Future of Religion -- Part One Theories of Religious Study -- 1 The Nature and Substance of the Study of Religion: A Critical Perspective from the Development of Modern Western Religious Studies -- 2 Theories of Religion in Contemporary China -- 3 An Overall Inquiry into the Role Religion Plays in the Strategy of Cultural Development -- 4 The Social Dimension of Religion and Its Representation: A Fundamental Thesis of Chinese Sociology of Religion -- 5 A Tentative Analysis of the Relationship between Modernization and New Religions -- 6 The Development of Modern Society and the Evolution of Religion -- 7 A Theoretical Examination of and Reflection on the Global Revival of Religion -- Part II Marxist Perspectives on Religion and Religion in Contemporary China -- 8 An Outline of the Basic Theories and Development of Marx and Engels' Historical Materialist View of Religion -- 9 A Comprehensive Understanding and Scientific Appraisal of Leninist Perspectives on Religion -- 10 A Survey of Marxist Perspectives on Religion in New China -- 11 On the Sinicized Marxist View of Religion -- 12 On the Socialist View of Religion with Chinese Characteristics -- 13 A Brief Discussion on Theories of Religion and Legal Reconstruction over the Past Twelve Years -- 14 Building a Harmonious Society and New Ideas of Religious Work -- Bibliography -- Index.