How Can Christianity Establish its Place in a Chinese Culture - Research Paper Example

Introduction This paper is aimed at deriving ways in which Christianity in China used to enhance its development and growth despite the opposition bymany and different traditions and religious movements that existed in China before Christianity was introduced. Christianity in China grew and can still continue to develop and go past the existing religious groups, traditions and movements and become the dominant religion. Despite the fact that Christianity in China was comprised of a minority group surrounded by many religious movements and traditions, it still thrived and spread in China. The Christian groups consisted of Protestants known as Ji du jiao and Catholics who were better know as Tian zhu jiao of Lord of Heavenly Religion and a small number of orthodox Christians (Tony 1994). China is a country dominated by ancient religious groups and beliefs like Mahayana Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism. Christianity has had a rough journey to reach to the position it is today. It has had problems like persecution of leaders and followers, harassment, physical and mental abuse. Background of information Christianity in China has been growing significantly since the loosening of restrictions on religion in 1970 within the republic. However, many religious practices are still controlled by the authorities. Christianity had been in China from the 7th century AD but it later disappeared for many years and then it was re-introduced. The Persian missionary who came to China during the Tang Dynasty, were the first Christians to settle in China. Their Christianity which was referred to as Nestorian thrived for many years until the emperor then, implemented anti-religious measures in 845 AD. As a result of the measures all foreign religions and traditions including Christianity were kicked out of China (Arnold 1889). Christianity and the dynasties During the 13th century, under the reign of Yuan dynasty, Christianity was re-introduced but it did not last for long as the Ming Dynasty overthrew the Yuan Dynasty in the 14th century leading to the expulsion of Christianity again. Later in the 16th century after Jesuits arrived in Beijing, they introduced western learning and Christianity began to sink deep into the people of China. Although it had grown, it remained a minority group in China. Missionaries started flocking to China and brought in westernisation. Christianity had a great deal of influence on the people of China and its teaching started to influence the Chinese people (Yeo 1998). Christianity and social responsibility Christians in China were quite active and had a sense of social responsibility. They started by building the first modern clinics and hospitals. By this time, they were under the protection of western authorities and hence they had enough security. Today, Christianity in China can still grow and dominate China due to various reasons: Westernisation is one of the reasons. Due to the introduction of educations, Chinese people will and have an opportunity to read the bible and other Christianity material, understand Christianity and be concerted. Secondly, by Christianity establishing educational institutions, health facilities, they showed that they had a role in social responsibility they had to play and thus they got more followers (Peale 2005). Many of the educational facilities in China at that time were owned by Roman and the Catholic Churches. Many prominent universities in China grew under the established and leadership of Christianity. Christianity and missionary works Christianity in China can still grow as a result of missionary works. The Christians were and are responsible caring for the less fortunate by providing them with basic necessities. They provided food to the poor as well as doing charitable work to abolish social injustices like foot binding slavery and opium trade .Through these activities, the missionaries and Christians had and still have a chance to preach the gospel thus playing a role in alleviating Christianity in China. Christianity in China has grown to the approximately 4 million Roman Catholic and 10 million Protestants. The establishments of Christian movements like the Chinese House Movements, China Christina Council (CCC), Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association (CCPA) and Chinese Catholic Bishops Council (CCBC) have played a big role in establishment and growth of Christianity in China (David 2003). In China there was a policy that all religious organizations have to be registered. A result many Christians worshiped underground mostly between the years of 1966-1976 as their official churches had been closed and they feared imprisonment. Because the church operated outside the authority of the government, there were many cases of harassment to Christian’s leaders and followers by Chinese government and the local authorities. Prosecution was in form of tough labor or imprisonment without any fine or bail. In 1980s, cases of persecution of Christians had intensified. Prosecution of Christians posed a major setback to Chinese who were interested in becoming Christians. Many people feared for their lives thus stayed away from Christianity. These policies were later abolished after missionaries taught the people of China the importance of religion (Peale 2005). Growth of Christianity According to a report by a National Catholic Reporter’s veteran correspondents, over 200 million Chinese are in the process of joining Christianity and they are spreading the gospel to Muslims. He continues and says that Chinese people are hungry spiritually and are yearning for the gospel. This has come as a result of influence form the Christians who have undergone persecution and discouragement and they have made it. Migration of people has also been another basis over which have been motivated through to be transformed into Christians (Tony 1994). These people who come into China have a great influence on the Chinese and this has made millions of them embrace Christianity. Chinese who have been elevated from poverty to better living standards have also decided to turn into Christianity. Testimonies from other Chinese and religious followers has and can also play a big role in establishment and growth of Christianity in China. After one of the leaders of the missionaries Reverend Bae Hyung Kyu by Taliban in Afghanistan, many Christians were sent from different parts of the world including South Korea to China and the Chinese Christians had a chance to turn focus their attention on Christianity form other states of the world. According to world Christianity databases, the number of Chinese Christians is estimated to be 111 million of which 90% are Pentecostal Protestants. Christians in China have found freedom and they can worship at home (Tony, Ross & David 2006). Christianity and economic development Christianity in China can develop in China as a result of the economical development. Christianity thrives well among people who are economically stable or at times it is preached as a way of acquiring wealth. In many cases, when Christianity is embraced, it brings about economical stability and security. According to policy planners, religious globalization goes hand in hand with the economical globalization. In China, Christianity has already spread to cities that are economically strong. These are the same city that host higher institutions of learning like universities. In the universities, Christian subjects have been introduced and this will play a big role in assisting in growth of Christianity in China. Christianity can be associated with economical development in that with the introduction of education; new skills and knowledge were learnt thus making China more stable economically. Christian’s moral principles The spread of Christianity has led to introduction of Christian moral principles. These principles show the character of a character of a Christian faith and it through this is can spread to other people. This has led to international interest which has made more and more foreigners establish their Churches in China. Many prominent people including former president of United States George W.Bush have attended Chinese churches when on official tour to the Asian Countries. This played a major role to the Christians as it served as a way of marketing the Church to the Chinese people. Other prominent people who ever been to Chinese Christina Church include; Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice who attended a palm Sunday in Beijing, Prime minister for Australian Kevin Rudd together with his wife attended a services at Northern Cathedral. These visitations by prominent people made Christianity a very popular term in China that many citizens of China were transformed to Christians (Yeo 1998). Conclusion Christianity in China has had the toughest time to face as a minority religion. Facing opposition from other religions and traditions had led to its early fall but later it was re-introduced. With Christians facing oppression and harassment from the local authorities and the government, the church had a big role to play in convincing Chinese citizens to transform into Christianity. Nevertheless, after the entry of many missionaries and new government in authority, Christianity finally found its place and it has grown tremendously (David 2003). Support from other Asian countries like South Korea also played a big part in the growth of Christianity in China. The future of Christianity in China is quite bright and it is due to be the most dominant religion. The church, society, and the government have all contributed to growth of Christianity in China. It is quite evident that Christianity has played a big role in modernisation of China by introduction of educational institutions, health facilities and provision of social amenities. Christianity offered all forms of support to the process of modernization and it played a big role in westernization of the People’s Republic of China. The church in China is also responsible for the harmonious and peaceful co-existence of the people as it advocated for equality and harmony among citizens. References Arnold, F 1889, Christian progress in China: Gleanings from the writings and speeches of many workers, Religious Tract Society. David, A 2003, Jesus in Beijing, Regnery Publishing Inc, Washington D.C. Peale, JS 2005, The Love of God in China, iUniverse, USA. Tony, L 1994, The resurrection of the Chinese Church, Harold Shaw Publishers. Tony, L, Ross, P & David, P 2006, Chinas Christian millions, Monarch Books. Yeo, KK 1998, What has Jerusalem to do with Beijing? Trinity, Harrisburg. Read More