But perhaps the most interesting find in recent years regarding religion in China is an analysis by the Pew Forum of a 2005 survey conducted by InterMedia, an international research and consultation organisation specialising in media and communication.
The unprecedented survey questioned more than 10,000 adults across 21 of China's 31 mainland provinces, municipal districts and autonomous regions.
The Pew analysis of the survey found that 33 percent of Communist Party officials and government employees are very or somewhat interested in having media access to information on the topic of religion. This makes them the most interested group among the 11 occupational categories reported.
Perhaps an example of growing government tolerance of religion in China is a speech made last year by President and General Secretary Hu Jintao of the Communist Party of China that included a formal discussion of religion. He was the first head of communist China to speak about the beneficial role of religion at China's National Congress.
In January 2008, Hu stated to the Chinese Politburo, "We must strive to closely unite religious figures and believers ... to build an all-around ... prosperous society while quickening the pace toward the modernisation of socialism," according to the Pew Forum.
Behind government or communist party members, teachers or professors were the second most interested occupational group in the topic of religion (24 per cent). They were followed by retired citizens (24 per cent) and service workers (23 per cent).
The occupational group least interested in religion were professionals (16 per cent) and housewives (17 per cent).
Other interesting findings in the 2005 InterMedia survey include the nearly equal interest in the topic of religion between men (21 per cent) and women (22 per cent). In most other countries, women are more interested in religion than men.
Another unique feature about China's religious population is that people of higher education (university or higher) are most interested in the topic of religion (26 per cent) among the educational levels.
The people with the least interest in religion are those who attended vocational college (18 per cent). It is noteworthy that most party and government employees in the survey had vocational college education.
There is also about the same level of interest in the topic of religion across age groups, ranging from 20 to 23 per cent for those aged 15 to over 60 years old, according to the InterMedia survey.
Also unlike other countries, urban dwellers are more interested in religion (24 per cent) than rural residents (18 per cent).
"The relatively high level of interest in the topic of religion by Communist Party and government employees, in particular, may indicate that the government is seeking to come to terms with the interest in religion on the part of many people in China," commented Brian Grim, senior research fellow in Religion and World Affairs at the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.
"So, although religion will not be competing in the Olympic Games, it seems to be a more competitive force in China than people imagine," observed the respected scholar.
