| Summary/Abstract |
The recent introduction of the "donation-based legal personality" classification is a milestone in the ongoing process of promoting the rule of law in the regulation of religious activities in contemporary China. Its implementation, however, may be confronted by both theoretical and empirical obstacles. Based on judicial review and findings of research fieldwork conducted in some of the major Buddhist temples in China, this study discusses the judicial, social and practical dilemmas of conferring donation-based legal personality on Buddhist temples. It reveals that the issues related to the land and property ownership of Buddhist temples are complex and that the unique traditional internal organisational structure of Buddhist temples has posed challenges to conferring donation-based legal personality upon them.
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