China is now practicing socialist market economy. With the growing awareness of commodity，many religious organizations are participating in the market，which is attracting growing attention due to the broad scope of participation. Although the fundraising channel of the religious organizations is not limited to market，the portion of the fund obtained from market is notably increasing in the total amount of fund. However，this does not seem to be an issue of concern to the legal circle.

It might have implications to analyze this issue from a legal perspective. Any social organization has to have certain functions. The law，when protecting the establishment of social organizations，formally recognizes，respects and protects these organizations performing their functions in daily life. The social function of religious organizations lies more in facilitating and assisting the pursuit of a belief than in making products or doing business. Below I am going to define the social function of religious organizations as promoting religious doctrine and spirit，assisting the vulnerable and relieving the disadvantaged. Religious organizations therefore inevitably have some connections with the market，for example，religious organizations may need to conclude a contract with construction contractors if they need to have some facilities built. However，it remains a question whether religious organizations should own a large amount of capitals and invest them in production or business.

I am going to approach the issue from the following three aspects：firstly，a preliminary description of the current situation of the market participation of Chinese religious organizations；secondly，a brief discussion of the relations between religious organizations and market；and thirdly，a tentative analysis on how law should handle the participation of religious organization in market.

It has to be pointed out that due to limited resources there has no detailed studies on the subject yet. Instead，this paper intends to offer some preliminary thoughts.