Persistence of Christianity in Post Communist China - Article Example

Persistence of Christianity in Post Communist China Persistence of Christianity in Post Communist China The communist regimeafter the 1949 revolution outlawed any religion on the basis that religion was a serious danger to normal life and reproductive activities of the people, and that religion endangered the interests of the society or the public.1 Any religion was therefore required to accord to the socialist society.2 This article relooks into the case of Christians in communist China between 1950 and 1977. This is because; after the 1949 revolution, missionaries were ejected from China and persecuted most between 1950s and 60s. In addition, persecution of Christians was more elaborate between 1966 and 1977, particularly fueled by The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution under Mao.3 The 1949 communist revolution banned and outlawed Christianity as a religion, considering it as opium of the people; offering conflicting ideals from the communist ideologies, which were supreme and an end to all practices in China. However, despite the hostility against Christianity, the religion evolved and was practiced underground in order to survive. Therefore, the revolution did not result in any shift in Christianity, but the religion persisted even after this revolution. As early as 17th century, Christian missionaries of the Roman Catholics belonging to the Jesuit order had been actively involved in China while the protestant missionary arrived in the 19th century.4 Conversion of the Chinese to Christianity was difficult in that it was linked to western imperialism. Approximately 3 to 4 million Chinese had been converted to Christianity by 1949, less than 1% of the entire population; after the collapse of the monarchial rule, fights erupted largely fueled by a need to determine the next form of governance different from the Monarchs, and in which Christians were heavily involved.5 Monarchs used religion to control their territories and neglected its moral teachings. The rise of Communism acted as a barrier to the spread of Christianity stating religion as “opium of the people” from Max philosophy Before the 1949 revolution, Christians were estimated to be about 700,000 in China.6 In the 1940s, many Chinese Christians were behind calls to rid China off foreign influence, with a selected group of Chinese Church leaders preparing a document that was later to be known as “Christian Manifesto.”7 For example, because of their steadfast loyalty to the pope, Catholics faced great persecution from the early 1950s and 1960s, with all foreign missions being expelled from China.8 The number of Catholics in 1949 was estimated to be about 4 million in China. The severe persecution of Catholicism led to cold relationship between Vatican and the Communist country. In fact, the relations are still shaky as the Chinese Catholic church continued to ordain a bishop without Papal approval as the communist regime still requires the native Catholics to choose between devotion to the pope, and obedience to the communist authorities.9 Religion was viewed as a strong factor of change that could have threatened the status quo as introduced by the communist regime; it was mainly viewed as a liberal force in China after the 1949 revolution. Though contributing only a small portion, Christianity was particularly indentified as a big risk that could cause problems to the communist regime. Christianity was particularly introduced in China from the Western and European regions, and was thus seen as a perpetuation of western ideologies in the communist country. Having been introduced by foreigners with strong establishments in European countries and offering education, medicine, and food to the locals, it earned much hate and suspicion from the communist rulers. Clarke offers a concise differentiation of what constitutes public and private realm. Such a distinction has to rely on the dichotomous distinction between the private and public.10 Therefore, in terms of religion in China, private realm would constitute that which was practiced and limited to an individual, or a family, while public realm would constitute a religion that involved a group of people sharing a common belief. The boundary between the two realms according to Clarke involves deciding what would be left to natural instincts of private world of a family or individual, and what needs must be met in public. There emerged divisions in the Chinese Christian churches, involving those in support of church control by the government and those who vehemently opposed such a move.11 Formation of TSPM was an activity full of controversy and welcomed in great resistance. The formation of TSPM is credited to an American missionary, John Livingston Nexus.12 Nexus spent most of his time developing a self governing, self supporting, and self propagating churches in China. After the 1949 revolution, the new communist regime placed the protestant church under TSPM to advocate self supporting, self governing and self propagating ideologies; in respect to administration, finance and evangelism.13 Most christens resisted such move but CCP crackdown on such Christians resulted in underground churches. The communist regime used the ideologies of Nexus to establish an independent Church, though the main aim was to cut any link between the churches in China with any western country. There was therefore great conspiracy between leaders of TSPM; being advocated by the group of Christians who were against the increasing control of Chinese affairs through religion, and CCP who were anxious to dismantle any missionary presence in the country.14 Through this conspiracy CCP hijacked the “Three Self Principles” from their meanings as crafted by missionaries, and formed a political body to control all the operations of the Protestant churches. In order to escape CCP persecution, most Christians agreed to bow to Mao as a way of indicating he was the highest being, though they still continued to practice Christianity in secret. Such bowing made them to camouflage among the communist regimes thus escaping persecution,15 though it was a sign of placing Mao beyond God as the supreme leader. CCP developed very strong polices aimed at controlling all affairs in the country. One of the main aims of CCP particularly under Mao was to exterminate Christianity, and replace it with the Maoist thoughts. However, CCP did not succeed in its bid to exterminate Christianity, though thousands of Christians were persecuted. This was due to the tactics used by Christianity to persist despite the violent attacks form CCP. Some protestant churches agreed to this initiative by CCP and formed churches according to the policies described by TSPM. However, some Christians refused to pay allegiance to TSPM, citing God as the most Supreme Being alone. These protestant churches were however not much different form churches under TSPM.16 The Catholics especially refused to be under the TSPM, which meant separating from the universal church to form a localized church in China, and went underground for fear of persecution; for many years, they were thought to be extinct.17 The underground churches became a target for CCP, who tried to crush its local leadership and informal networks in rural areas, but had little presence in cities.18 Meetings by faithful in these churches were done in strict privacy as “house churches,” or as family affairs in private residences for fear of CCP authority.19 Those protestant churches registered under TSPM were more pronounced in cities where authority control was more confined and their theology controlled by CCP under TSPM, though they met in public places unlike the underground churches.20 These churches were later to be known as underground churches. This underground or autonomous church became spread more widely in rurally areas, and had a very minute presence in cities. This was because; such underground churches became a target for CCP, who tried to crush its local leadership and informal networks in rural areas.21 Meetings by faithful in these churches were done in strict privacy as “house churches,” or as family affairs in private residences for fear of CCP authority.22 The little presence of these churches in cities was a result of foreigners who continued to practice religion in secret. This would account for private realm practices. Those protestant churches registered under TSPM were more pronounced in cities where authority control was more confined and their theology controlled by CCP under TSPM, though they met in public places unlike the underground churches.23 Many Chinese Christians are still linked to the underground churches, or to private worship as they are able to respond better to their ample needs; individuals have a higher possibility of finding a house church that corresponds of their unique cultural needs.24 There was a significant relief to the execution of Christians in 1979, when the third wave of Christianity emerged in the communist country. After the death of Mao, the reforms of Deng Xiaoping marked the third wave of Christianity revival in 1979.25 These Christians further continued in underground churches and operated independent of the official church in China. However, the private realm of worship began to open up as both Protestants and Catholics were able to meet in their homes freely, and continued to multiply around the country. In 1979, Protestants and Catholic churches were reopened and normal religious worship was declared legal, though the communist government still reserved strict limits in which all religions had to operate.26 By 1984, it was estimated that there were over ten thousand house meetings across China and only 1,600 reopened church buildings.27 Currently, there are more than 100 million Christians majority being from outside the TSPM controlled church.28 The number of Catholics in China today is estimated to be about 12 million Christians.29 However, official figures report between ten to fourteen million Christians by 1997 and fifteen million Christians in 2002.30 However, currently, Christians are viewed to be inferior compared to the missionary time. Missionary had the freedom to spread Christianity and even build churches, and were able to operate without barriers before the 1949 revolution. Currently, Christians do not enjoy such rights as all religious worship is controlled by the communist regime though politically formed bodies. The above complex events circumventing Christianity in China indicate that there have been the same trends in history where Christians were persecuted, the church goes underground but still persists to be revived when politics were favorable. However, in all the cycles, underground worship was and still is an important feature that gave lie to Christianity in China. Today, most autonomous churches have more access to the bible and religious literature, training of pastors and even get support from foreign missionaries. However, this trend has been replicated in history especially before the 1949 revolution, when Christianity had greatly flourished in the country. Therefore, the 1949 communist revolution did not lead to any break, but Christianity still persisted similar to other revolutions that had happened before. Bibliography Bays, H. Daniel. A New history of Christianity in China. Oxford: Wiley & Sons, 2012 Bays, H. Daniel. Chinese Protestant Christianity Today. The China Quarterly, 174 (2003), 488-504. China Missionary. First Thoughts on the Debacle of Christian Missions in China, African Affairs. 51 no. 202, (1952), 33-41. Clarke, John. Dissolving the Public Realm?: The Logics and Limits of Neo- Liberalism. Journal of Social Policy, 33 no.1, (2004), 27-48. Holmes, Leslie Communism: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford Press, 2009 Ling, Ki Oi, The Changing Role of the British Protestant Missionaries in China. NJ: Associated University Press, 1999. Maheu, A. Betty. The Catholic Church in China. America magazine, 193.14 (2005), 8 Madsen Richard, “Back to the Future: Pre-modern Religious policy in Post Secular China.” Foreign Policy Research Institute (March 2010) http://www.fpri.org/enotes/201003.madsen.postsecularchina.html Accessed 3rd Oct. 2012 Morrison Peter. Religious Policy in China and its Implementation in the Light of Document No. 19. Seibel, Caleb Origins of the Three- Self Patriotic Movement Kansas State University, Dissertation, 2011 Waldron Arthur. Religious Revivals in Communist China. Religion in World Affairs 42 no.2, (1998), 325- 334. Watts Jonathan. Vatican Excommunicates Bishop Ordained by Chinese State. The Guardian, 17th July, 2011. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jul/17/vatican-excommunicates-chinese-bishop Accessed 3rd Oct. 2012 Wenger E. Jacqueline. Official Vs. Underground Protestant Churches in China: Challenges for Reconciliation and Social Influence. Review of Religious Research, 46 no.2, (2004), 16 Read More