wfn.org | Christianity Explodes in China, Rising From Ashes of Communist Rule

[PCUSA NEWS <pcusa.news@ecunet.org>]

17-May-1999 
99188 
 
    Christianity Explodes in China, 
    Rising From Ashes of Hard-Line Communist Rule 
 
    by Evan Silverstein 
 
SHANGHAI, China - Hong Lu-ming remembers working in a bicycle-seat factory 
under the iron fist of China's Communist Party in the mid-1960s and early 
70s. A choir teacher and church worker, she was forcibly "re-educated" in 
the government's Marxist dogma. 
 
    She was not permitted by the atheistic state to worship God publicly or 
speak of Jesus Christ. She wasn't even allowed to play religious hymns on 
her own piano, she recently told a delegation visiting China from the 
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). 
 
    "They came and took my piano away," Hong said, referring to the 
oppressive government, which closed all churches and confiscated personal 
items of individuality, religious faith and Western commercialism during 
China's decade-long Cultural Revolution (1966-1976). "They took my 
Beethoven records." 
 
    Today, thanks to a softening of Beijing's hard-line suppression of 
organized religion, Hong is back in church, freely worshiping her God. 
Interest in religion in general and in Christianity in particular has 
"exploded" in China, she said. (The growth of Christianity in China was 
among the topics discussed recently during a conference on Presbyterian 
missions overseas; see story at note number 5324.) 
 
    "It's getting better and better," said the Rev. Qi Gui Shi, senior 
pastor of Shanghai Community Church, where Hong works as an organist. "We 
are optimistic our government is sincere in implementing freedom of 
religion." 
 
    Now that the Chinese constitution grants freedom of religious belief to 
all citizens and protects legitimate religious activities, countless 
temples, churches and mosques have reopened, and worshipers have turned out 
in astounding numbers. They often spill out of packed churches and into the 
streets. 
 
    Fifty years ago, there were fewer than 3.5 million Christians in China. 
Current estimates by church officials range up to 80 million. What was a 
tiny community of 700,000 Protestants in 1949, when the communists seized 
power, is now a growing faith with at least 12 million adherents. Christian 
churches are opening in China daily. China also has several million Roman 
Catholics. 
 
    But China's current "golden era" of religion, ecumenical officials say, 
has triggered a shortage of churches; a serious glut of ordained clergy; 
and too few qualified lay people to lead the increased number of 
worshipers. In addition, there are not enough facilities to train new 
church leaders. 
 
    In stark contrast, Hong, addressing the nine-member delegation led by 
the Rev. Douglas Oldenburg, moderator of the PC(USA), described a  period 
of political turmoil under Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong, who founded 
the People's Republic of China. During the Cultural Revolution the 
government tried to eliminate all the country's major religions, including 
Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, Islam and Christianity. Countless churches 
were closed or converted to warehouses or government offices. 
 
    Over the next decade, millions of people, including clergy and other 
educated leaders, were sacked, imprisoned and otherwise reviled as 
counter-revolutionaries. Tens of thousands were executed. 
 
    "During that period, the many Christians around the world were praying 
for you," Oldenburg told his Chinese hosts during last month's tour of 
Asian churches and educational institutions, which was scheduled in 
connection with the "Year With Education," a celebration focusing on the 
PC(USA)'s involvement in education around the world. 
 
    Although most Chinese Christians identify themselves either as 
Protestants or Catholics, the "new church" is non-denominational. The idea 
of particular Christian bodies is an outdated concept in China, one to 
which many young believers have never been exposed. 
 
    Officials say the most rapid church expansion occurred between 1980 and 
1992, although Christianity is still spreading rapidly. Despite this 
Chinese Christians are a minuscule minority -  about 1 percent - of all 
organized faith groups. More than 90 percent of China's 1.2 billion 
residents claim they have no religious beliefs. 
 
    Nevertheless, churches and seminaries in China are scrambling to keep 
pace with demand. The Huadong Theological Seminary in Shanghai is building 
a new campus with modern classroom facilities and dormitories. In Nanjing, 
the Jiangsu Christian Council recently opened a new bible school, adding 
much-needed space for religious studies. 
 
    In Hangzhou, the Zhejiang Theological Seminary is building a lay 
training center; funding has come in part from the Outreach Foundation, a 
PC(USA)-related mission organization. Scholarships sponsored by the PC(USA) 
help seminary graduates pursue advanced theological degrees abroad. 
 
    Chinese officials want to show that they are tolerant of religion, in 
part to calm U.S. concerns about widespread repression and head off 
criticism by human-rights officials, who have long questioned China's 
openness to worship. But church officials say accounts of widespread 
persecution of Christians and government interference in church affairs 
overshadows the miraculous growth taking place in the world's most populous 
nation. 
 
    "China is a big country, and I can't guarantee there won't be 
discrimination," said the Rev. Cao Sheng-jie, vice president of the China 
Christian Council. 
 
    Churches are allowed to worship openly, but under Chinese law all 
social organizations, including churches, must register with the 
government, Cao said. Some demonstrations have been held by groups not 
allowed to register. On April 25, more than 10,000 members of the 
quasi-religious Falun Gong sect besieged China's leadership compound in 
Beijing, demanding official recognition as a religion. The peaceful sit-in 
was the biggest demonstration in the capital in a decade, although it was 
surpassed this month by rallies denouncing NATO's accidental bombing of the 
Chinese Embassy in Belgrade. 
 
    Authorities were already on alert earlier this month, as the country 
marked the 80th anniversary of a student-led patriotic movement and 
anticipated the sensitive 10th anniversary of student-led pro-democracy 
demonstrations in Beijing's Tiananmen Square. The army crushed those 
protests June 4, 1989, killing hundreds of people. 
 
    Experts say China's modernization and its interest in normalizing 
relations with the West are major reasons for the religious boom. 
 
    An improvement in China-U.S. relations has helped millions of Chinese 
people to "dismiss the notion that Christianity is as an alien faith," said 
Zhuo Xinping, director of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, which is 
examining religion for the government. He said religion has given some 
Chinese a balance between spirituality and the rampant consumerism that has 
swept across the country, which is now seeking entry into the World Trade 
Organization, which sets rules for global trade. 
 
    Zhuo said many pre-revolutionary Christians are returning to the public 
practice of their faith. 
 
    He told the PC(USA) delegation that other faith groups also are on the 
rise. Buddhist sects in the cities and in the countryside have been very 
active. Ethnic Chinese Muslims, or Hui, as well as the Muslim minority 
peoples such as the Uyger, Kazakhs and Kirgiz, have held their faith in 
Islam continually, but now are able to practice their religion openly. 
 
    This trend must continue as the communist country moves toward a 
society and an economy based on Western models. 
 
    "To have democracy, a country must be pluralistic," said Wang Mei-xiu, 
an associate professor in the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. "I 
believe China is moving toward a form of democratic society. Once you start 
democracy, it keeps growing and growing. It can't be stopped." 
 
    The church-construction projects have Chinese church officials 
wondering, "Will these new buildings prove ample to serve the church's 
mission?" 
 
    "We have a lot of challenges in the ministries. I don't know if it will 
be enough," said Ni Guang Dao, the vice president of Zhejiang Christian 
Council. "You have to remember, we're facing so many growing churches and 
increased worshipers, that we feel the priority should be given to lay 
training and programs. But I don't think this will take care of 
everything." 
 
    Chinese Christianity generally mirrors the Three-Self Patriotic 
Movement (self-government, self-support and self-propagation) launched by 
Protestants in 1954 as an umbrella organization to rally Chinese Christians 
for independence and "selfhood." The committee also acts as a liaison 
between Christians and the government. 
 
    The government still keeps an eye on religious activities and requires 
believers to practice their faith through government-controlled or 
-sponsored organizations. Only after the passage of the constitution of 
1978 and Mao's death in 1980 was formal religion officially supported. 
 
    The 1978 constitution also states, however, that the Chinese people 
also have the freedom "to propagate atheism." Communist Party members are 
prohibited from joining religious groups. 
 
    A 1982 constitution confers freedom of religious belief to Chinese 
citizens and protects legitimate religious activities. 
 
    "We are happy with our situation," said Cao, who also serves as pastor 
of Grace Church in Shanghai. "The government gives us freedom of religion. 
It's in the constitution." 

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