Prologue : six decades of studying Chinese religion -- Chinese religion : the oldest documented religious tradition -- Five centuries of the Western misrepresentation of Chinese religion -- Familism : the global context of Chinese religion -- The theology implicit in the early Confucian tradition : the fundamental understanding of the meaning of life in Chinese culture -- The role of possession trance in Chinese culture and religion : a comparative overview from the Neolithic to the present -- State and religion in China : the district magistrate as priest -- Freedom of religion in China : in the past and under the Chinese Communist Party -- Why Buddhism succeeded and Christianity failed in China -- The theology of the Chinese Jews : a synthesis of Judaism and Neo-Confucianism -- Epilogue : Chinese religion today in China and the Chinese diaspora.