Mao's blunders, such as the 1966-1976 Cultural Revolution, combined with 20 years of breakneck economic growth and frantic materialism have eroded communism's hold on the Chinese people. Disillusioned, they are searching for meaning in other forms, including religion. Workers are frustrated by government reforms that have created huge gaps between the rich and poor. While many entrepreneurs have watched their investments multiply, working-class wages have generally remained flat. Farmers have become victims of government freezes on crop prices.
Older people feel the pinch even more.
Most young people scoff at the Communist Party. While Zhang puts his faith in China's fickle stock market, millions of Chinese in their quest for social bonding and spiritual guidance turn to a colorful array of religions and beliefs. The Falun Gong, so widely publicized in the press, is the most organized and sophisticated of these spiritual movements that have sprung up all over China. Today, because the Chinese people display such profound spiritual yearning, Christianity and all religions in China are thriving. Catholics have increased from about 3 million in 1949 to more than 10 million today.