Study On Legal Problem Of Temple Properties In China

China is not only a multi-ethnic country, but also a multi-religious country, mainlyare Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism, Christianity, etc. But as to the ownership oftemple properties, there are still no clear and unified rules according to our laws.Whether The General Principles of Civil Law or Real Right Law, both of which have noclear attribution of the temple or the temple properties management system. At the timeof the drafting of Real Right Law, many scholars proposed various viewpoints on theownership of temple properties, but ended in vain. The main reason is that if the templeowned the properties, the legal nature of the temple is still to be solved in legislation.And it cannot be sure which one is more suitable for China’s actual situation andpromoting the development of China’s temples.After the founding of PRC, there is a bias in religious policy and practice, whichneeds to be corrected. At the same time, the ownership of temple properties needs to beaddressed. In addition, under the market economy, new questions have arisen relating tothe temple. Nowadays, China is ruled by law and rights are fully defined. The problem ofthe ownership of temple properties is both a political and legal issue, which must becomprehensively solved from both perspectives.Studies on the ownership of temple properties have been not many till now. Thereason is properly because religion is not just a sensitive topic, and sometimes it can be apolitical issue. However, temple properties issue is related to the normalization of thepolitical and religious life and the constitutional development of the country. This articleonly provides a preliminary discussion of the question, the theory and practice issue ofwhich reserves for further study.This article argues on the ownership of temple properties through the analysis of theorigin, status in quo, legal principle of the temple properties. Firstly, state-owned landsand important cultural properties in the temple belong to the country; secondly, thetemple has partial ownership of the temple properties. Through analysis of templeproperties ownership rights, the ownership and management issues of temple can beperfected. Learning from relevant provisions of the temple properties in Japan and Taiwan district, relying primarily on trust system to manage temple properties, these canbe helpful to the development of temple business and to the protection of the legitimateinterests of the temple properties.