The moment
In 1966 Mao Zedong loosed the Red Guards on the 'Four Olds': old ideas, culture, customs and habits. Temples, churches and mosques were attacked, closed or seized, clergy were persecuted and all public religious life was banned for a decade. After Mao's death in 1976 places of worship reopened, and a 1982 party document again allowed 'freedom of religious belief' under state control.
People: Mao Zedong