Christianity in China

China has experienced a religious revival over the past four decades, including a significant increase in Christian believers. The number of Chinese Protestants has grown by an average of 10 percent per year since 1979. By some estimates, China is on track to become the country with the largest Christian population in the world by 2030. While the rise of Christianity poses challenges to the officially atheist Chinese Communist Party (CCP), it also offers new options for improving services, such as health care and education, for an increasingly demanding public. The government has recently launched a series of initiatives to further regulate, and sometimes restrict, adherents of Christianity.

The History of Christianity in China

The first waves of Christianity began with the arrival of the Italian Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci in China in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. The first Protestant missionary to China, Robert Morrison, went there in 1807 on behalf of the London Missionary Society and translated the Bible [PDF] into Mandarin. In the mid-19th century, Christianity became a mobilizing political force: Hong Xiuquan developed a Christian-influenced ideology to mount the Taiping Rebellion (1850–64) against the Qing dynasty, attracting missionaries and revolutionaries. The rebels took control of more than a third of China's territory and established a rival political order, known as the Celestial Kingdom.

The ensuing civil war killed an estimated twenty million people. The establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949 led to large-scale religious repression in mainland China. True to its Marxist roots, the CCP declared itself atheist. Maoist thought, a form of Marxism-Leninism that placed the future of the Chinese revolution in the hands of the peasants, was the dominant ideology. This was especially true at the height of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), when places of worship were demolished, closed, or re-appropriated, and religious practices were banned.

The First Christians of China

A wave of adherents to Christianity was observed as early as the early 1980s. Today, China's Christian population is composed of a wide range of citizens of all ages, from rural to urban centers, including students and professionals.

China is also the world's largest producer of Bibles. In 2016, the Amity Printing Company, a joint venture between the Amity Foundation, a Chinese nongovernmental organization, and the United Bible Societies, printed its 150 millionth Bible, a third of which was printed between 2013 and 2016. The company prints Bibles and other Christian products in many languages for domestic and international markets. However, while the government has shown some tolerance for religious practices, religious freedom is still limited and regulated.

The Politics of Christianity in China

What is China's policy on religious practices? The CCP officially recognizes five religions: Buddhism, Catholicism, Taoism, Islam, and Protestantism. The activities of state-sanctioned religious organizations are regulated by the State Administration for Religious Affairs (SARA), which manages all aspects of religious life, including the appointment of religious leaders, the selection of clergy, and the interpretation of doctrine. Christianity in the country of China is overseen by three major entities: the Three Silks Patriotic Movement, the China Christian Council, and the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association. In order to register as a state-sanctioned Christian organization, religious leaders must receive training to adapt the doctrine to the thinking of the government and the CCP.

Spirituality and religious practice have long been embedded in traditional Chinese culture, says Sara Cook, Freedom House’s senior East Asia analyst. Article 36 of China’s constitution protects freedom of religion. But if religious activities disrupt public order, pose a health risk to citizens, or contradict the state’s education system, they will be automatically banned! These provisions give authorities some flexibility in determining which religious practices are in line with party policy and which are outside the party-state’s guidelines.

Catholic and Protestant Christians of China

Fenggang Yang of Purdue University's Center on Religion and Chinese Society estimates that there are between 93 million and 115 million Protestants in China. Other Christian organizations estimate the number to be even higher. Estimates of the Catholic faithful in China range from ten to twelve million. However, the Vatican and Beijing have not had formal diplomatic relations since Mao broke them off in 1951. Since August 2014, Pope Francis has sought to thaw relations with China, which had been further strained by a dispute over who has the power to appoint bishops.

Why has the number of Christians increased? Social scientists have observed the rise of a spiritual vacuum after decades of unprecedented economic growth. Modern China has become a wealthier and more educated society, with a renewed interest in religion. As a result, experts say, as the CCP ideology loses its public force, Christian churches, both official and unofficial, appear to be filling some of the void. Believers are not only looking for meaning in their own lives, but also for the future of their country, as China adjusts to a rapidly changing economy and society.

The Importance of Christian Religion to the Chinese

Protestantism draws on Chinese ritual and communal traditions, according to French Jesuit Benoît Vermander, a China specialist. They say that Chinese Christians value the sense of brotherhood, the morality of religion, the solidarity of faith within an international movement and its structure. In addition, the harsh repression of the most popular traditional Chinese religions, especially during the Cultural Revolution, reduced the influence of Buddhism and Taoism and opened the door to greater Christian expansion.

Christians in China are overwhelmingly Protestant, drawn to the religion’s emphasis on egalitarianism and spiritual community within the church, Purdue’s Yang says. The sense of camaraderie among Chinese Christians is appealing compared to the hierarchical structures of other religious and social organizations, Yang adds. It’s also possible that more Chinese are choosing Christianity over other religions, such as Tibetan Buddhism, Islam or Falun Gong, because Christianity is more tolerated and potentially a safer option in China, Freedom House’s Cook says. Christian religious practice resurfaced after the end of the Cultural Revolution and has gained traction in Chinese society. In the early 1980s, the number of Christians was estimated at about six million. Today, estimates vary widely: The government counts twenty-nine million Christian adherents, while outside organizations have put their estimates much higher.

Practicing Christianity: A Danger for China's Christians

Christians have faced increasing repression in recent years. For about twenty-five years, China has been listed as one of the most dangerous countries in which to practice Christianity, according to Open Doors, a U.S.-based Christian nonprofit that tracks persecution of Christians around the world. Crackdowns come and go. While house churches and underground churches have traditionally been hit hardest by persecution, under Xi, state-sanctioned churches have also been targeted.

Recent crackdowns have targeted both house churches and state-sanctioned churches through harassment and detention of Christian believers, blocking access to places of worship, disrupting gatherings, removing crosses, demolishing churches, and dismantling congregations. For example, party officials in the eastern coastal city of Wenzhou, Zhejiang, known for its large Christian population, have ordered the removal of hundreds of crosses and the demolition of dozens of churches that allegedly violated building regulations, despite several having received prior approval from local officials. In addition, Zhejiang officials have announced that the party will enforce a ban on religious belief among party members in order to prevent the penetration of hostile Western forces.

In the central province of Henan, local authorities and police have taken similar measures, raiding some churches without warrants and razing others. Other provinces with large Christian populations, including Anhui and Jiangsu, have also been subject to crackdowns. Faith-based organizations are seen as one of the most serious threats to the Communist Party. Fenggang Yang, Purdue University The CCP identifies religious groups as potential threats to national security, social harmony, and fundamental interests. Ye Xiaowen, former director of SARA, stated in 1996 that: Religion has become a weapon in the hands of dissidents to incite the masses and create political unrest.

Christianity: a sacred religion for its country

Even though some people believe that the religion of Christianity is a plot to be against the Chinese government, Christians in China do not have this vocation. On the contrary, like all Christians around the world, what a Christian truly seeks is the word of God to guide him in his choices and to transmit it to those around him. Each Christian does not force his neighbor to follow his way, he explains his faith in religion and why he follows the God of Christians, the son of God Jesus Christ and all the other Christian saints.

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