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DOI: 10.7763/IPEDR. 2012. V51. 26

Real or Misperceived Opposites? The and the Chinese Communist Party’s Religious Control

+ Ying HAO Department of Government & Public Administration, the Chinese University of Hong Kong

Abstract. My research focuses on church-state relations in contemporary , to explore whether or not the Catholic Church in China constitutes a threat to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regime. I am undertaking a comparative study of the CCP’s religious control of the Catholic and Protestant churches in mainland China through the approach of state-society relations, as well as a macroscopic view of political science with quantitative and qualitative analysis. In my view, the CCP and Catholic Church in China are not in real opposition to one another, but are incorrectly perceived as enemies. As a regime highly unified in ideology and organization, the CCP’s state has been highly attentive toward any religion that has a nationwide, structured organization in China, whether it is of foreign or native provenance. Keywords: The Catholic Church, Protestant Churches, The Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

1. Introduction As they are both foreign-originated parts of , the Catholic Church has been subjected to much stricter controls from the mainland CCP since 1949 than the Protestant Churches. Furthermore, the Protestant churches have been the fastest growing in past three decades. My paper will explore these two strange phenomena and study whether the CCP and the Catholic Church are actually opposites or if their contention is misperceived. 2. Two Strange Phenomena between the Catholic Church and Protestant Churches in China 2.1. Since 1949, the CCP Has Taken Different Attitudes towards Two Churches----Strict Control over the Catholic Church and Relaxed Control over Protestant Churches (1) Registration of churches— stricter procedures for the Catholic Church (2) Regulations on the Supervision of the Religious Activities of Foreigners in China](Document No.144, 1994) ---Foreigners should not appoint religious professionals or carry out other activities in China. Therefore, the Vatican has no right to appoint bishops in Catholic Church in China, which violates the principle in Catholicism (3) Foreign missionary work: 80% American English teachers in China since early 1980’s have been Protestant (4) Foreign Protestant organizations began to smuggle into China since 1979, and in 1981, they successfully smuggled one million Bibles into China, while the Catholic Church never dare to do so. (5) Foreign exchanges: Protestant— since 1976, Catholic— since 1981 (6) Special Documents only aimed at the Chinese Catholic Church (1989, 2003) (7) Under the CCP’s strict limit on foreign financial aid to Chinese churches, the Amity Printing Company which belongs to the Protestant Churches was established in 1988 with all funds from foreign Protestant organizations, and it became the largest printing company for Bibles printing in the world in 2010 (8) The CCP’s different attitudes towards the Catholic “ “and Protestant “house churches” (use color to describe: Catholic underground church—in black area, Protestant House churches---in grey area.)

+ Corresponding author. Tel.: + (852) 69375848. E-mail address: [email protected]. 115 (9) Catholic and Protestant churches’ different behaviors in “6.4” 1989, and the CCP’s different reactions: (1) Protestant Churches including official church (Three-self Church) actively supported Student Movement during “6.4” in public, while the Catholic Church kept silent, upholding the CCP’s repression on “6.4”. (2) The Protestant leaders such as Bishop Ding Guangxun who actively supported “6.4” were not punished by the CCP finally, on the contrary, the CCP determined to stamp out any Catholic-inspired political activism after “6.4” (10) The CCP’s different treatments towards the Catholic and Protestant official churches (11) Some regions in China are forbidden only to foreign Catholic priests

2.2. Another Strange Phenomena Lies in Different Growth Rates of the Catholicism and in China (1815-2006) Since 1978, Protestantism has been the fastest growing religion in China. Compared with Protestant churches, the Catholic Church in China has kept slow but stable growth rate.

Fig. 1 3. Literature Review & Research Questions Many scholars in the field use “Christianity” to mix up “Protestantism” and “Catholicism” in China. Actually in China, they have been two religions with different religious doctrines, organizational structures, propagation models and histories since 19th. Few scholars make a systematic comparison between the two. In Catholic studies, most scholars attribute the CCP’s tough control over the Catholic Church to its close linkage with the Vatican. In addition, the reformed doctrines and active envangelical works of the Protestant churches have been considered as main factors leading to fast growth of the Protestant Church in China by most scholars in the field in past three decades. 4. My questions (1) What factors have made the CCP especially vigilant about the Catholic Church in China? Is it because of its powerful foreign background (the Vatican) or its nationwide, structured organization? Actually, as to foreign linkage, the Protestant Churches in China received much more foreign financial aid since 19th to the present. Furthermore, here are two counter-examples: I-Kuan Tao” (Yi Guan Dao) eliminated in the 1950’s, and “Falun Gong” eliminated in 1999 by the CCP in China, both of them were absolutely indigenous religious organizations, but had nationwide, well-structured organizations. (2) Why have the Protestant churches grown so fast in past three decades, just because of its reformed doctrines and active evangelical works? The reformed doctrines and active envangelical works of the 116 Protestant churches had already emerged in 19th in China, why did it not gain such fast growth in Late and KMT regime? 5. Comparison of Organizational Structures among the CCP, Catholic Church and Protestant Churches (1) Both of the Catholic Church and the CCP are hierarchical organizations with highly unified ideologies. (2) The Catholic Church is a universal church with a top leader--the Pope, a headquarters--the Vatican, and a basic principle--Canon Law, while Protestants churches are distributed, divided into many different independent churches in the world, without a universal hierarchal structure.

5.1. The Particularity of Chinese Religious Beliefs (1) According to C.K. Yang’s theory, there are two types of religions in Chinese society--“Institutional Religion” and “Diffused Religion”. is such a typical diffused religion. Institutional religion such as and Catholicism played a weak role in Chinese society. (2) Monarchical authority combined with Confucianism was predominant over theocracy (contrary to Western tradition). (3) Chinese religious beliefs have loose structures and traditional Chinese society had been absent of “Dual Opposites” between secular authority and theocracy. (4) Chinese Cultural imperative in Foreign Religions and the “Marginal Religion” of Christianity in Chinese society

5.2. The Particularity of the Propagation Model of the Catholic Church in China Compared with Protestant Churches (1) Dependence on Patriarchal Clans (kinship) in Chinese society and the Stability of Catholic Propagation in Social Upheaval and Transition in Chinese Society. (2) “The Directives of ” and Catholic reverence of Confucianism as orthodox, as well as Catholic Missionaries’ obedience to secular authority in Chinese society, while Protestant’s challenge to secular authority with Western privileges in China. (3) Missionary Work focused on science and education, as the auxiliary means of the Catholic mission, while main measures of Protestant mission.

5.3. The Limits of Catholic Propagation in China (1) Propagation dependent on priests and Mass carried out only in churches. (2) Catholic hierarchy and regular dioceses. (3) The CCP’s “one-child” policy and its influence on the number of students in seminaries.

5.4. State-Society Relations Perspectives (1) Three types of legitimation:

z Legal-electoral legitimacy---democratic regime;

z Ideological legitimacy---authoritarian regime;

z Performance legitimacy---economic performance, moral conduct and territorial defense. The legitimation of the CCP regime: from ideological to performance, while corruption reduces the economic moral dimension. (2) Intermediate Organization and “State-Society Relations” According to Zhao Dingxin’s theory--“Three Types of Models”, the Catholic Church is such an intermediate organization in Chinese society, which helps to maintain social stability and harmony. 6. Conclusion

117 (1) The Catholic Church in China is different from Protestant churches, in that it has the tradition of “The Directives of Matteo Ricci,” which expounded Christian doctrines in a Confucian way. It also comports with the traditional dependence on patriarchal clans (kinship) and obedience to secular authority found in Chinese society. It is not a social group that inclines to reform or revolution, but rather a conservative, exclusive, and highly stable one. Therefore, it has never intended to threaten or challenge the CCP’s authority. The opposition of the Catholic Church in China has been “misperceived” by the CCP. (2) The CCP is highly vigilant with any religion that has nationwide, well-structured and compact organization in China, whether it is of foreign or native provenance. Contrary to common views in the field, I think why the Catholic Church could survive in China after 1949 -- in contrast to the “I-Kuan Tao”and “Falun Gong”, because of its powerful world-wide network, its linkage with the Vatican. (3) The CCP wants to maintain the division (or disruption) between the official and underground Catholic Churches in the Chinese mainland, to divide the Catholic Church and rule it in China. 7. References [1] Aikman, D. Jesus in Beijing: How Christianity Is Transforming China and Changing the Global Balance of Power Washington, D.C.: Regenry Publishing, 2003. [2] Alan Hunter, and Chan Kim-Kwong, Protestantism in Contemporary China Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University Press, 1993 [3] Anthony S.K. Lam. Power and Struggle. Hong Kong: Holy Spirit Study Centre, 2006. [4] Betrice Leung, willim T. Liu. The Chinese Catholic Church in conflict: 1949-2001. Boca Raton: Universal Publisher, 2004. [5] Beatrice Leung ed. Church & state relations in 21st Century Asia. Hong Kong: Centre of Asian Studies, The University of Hong Kong, c1996. [6] Chan, Kim-Kwong, and Carlson, Eric R. Religious Freedom in China: Policy, Administration, and Regulation: A Research Handbook. CA/Hong Kong: 2005. [7] C.K. Yang. Religion in Chinese Society: A Study of Contemporary Social Function of Religion and Some of Their Historical Factors. The Regents of the University of Califonia, 1961. [8] Daniel L. Overmyer ed. Religion in China Today. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2003. [9] Eriberto P. Lozada, JR. Aboveground---Catholic Church, Postsocialist State, and Transnational Processes in A Chinese Village. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. [10] Franz Schurmann. Ideology and Organization in Communist China. Berkeley, California: University of California Press, 1968. [11] Laszlo Ladany. The Catholic Church in China. New York: Freedom Press, 1987. [12] Lam, Anthony S. K. The Catholic Church in Present-day China: through Darkness and Light. Leuven, Belgium: Ferdinand Verbiest Foundation; Hong Kong: Holy Spirit Study Centre, 1997. [13] Madsen, Richard. China's Catholic: Tragedy and Hope in An Emerging Civil Society. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998. [14] Yoshiko Ashiwa & David L. Wank ed. Making Religion, Making the State: The Politics & Religion in Modern China. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2009. [15] Zhao Dingxin. The Power of Tiananmen. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2001. [16] Tripod, Hong Kong: Holy Spirit Study Centre, 2000-2012.

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