DOCSLIB.ORG

Qin2020.Pdf (1.836Mb)

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Qin2020.Pdf (1.836Mb) This thesis has been submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for a postgraduate degree (e.g. PhD, MPhil, DClinPsychol) at the University of Edinburgh. Please note the following terms and conditions of use: This work is protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights, which are retained by the thesis author, unless otherwise stated. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author. When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given. THE EVOLUTION OF EVANGELICAL SOCIO-POLITICAL APPROACHES IN CONTEMPORARY CHINA (1980S-2010S) Daniel Qin Doctor of Philosophy The University of Edinburgh 2019 DECLARATION I confirm that this thesis presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, has i) been composed entirely by myself ii) been solely the result of my own work iii) not been submitted for any other degree or professional qualification A revised version of chapter II is forthcoming in 2020 in Studies in World Christianity as ‘Samuel Lamb’s Exhortation Regarding Eternal Rewards: A Socio- Political Perspective.’ Daniel Qin _________ Date: ABSTRACT This thesis explores the evolution of Evangelical socio-political approaches in contemporary China, arguing that Evangelicals in both the Three-Self church and the house churches have moved towards an increasing sense of social concern in the period from the 1980s to the 2010s. The period is divided into a former period (1980s to early-1990s) and a latter period (mid-1990s to 2010s). The late 1970s was the beginning of the Reform and Opening Up policy, which brought about a relatively open socio-political context and led to fast economic growth. Meanwhile, Protestant Christianity experienced fast growth in church numbers and Christian population. The mid-1990s marked a new phase of significant social change, which saw the growth of a socialist market economy partnered with moral decline and social injustice that continued to the 2010s. During this period, Protestant Christianity witnessed the rise of urban churches and growth of Christian intellectuals. The vast majority of Protestants during both periods would be considered Evangelical. This thesis is a study of historical theology, focusing on four Evangelical church figures as case studies. Among them, in the former period, the house church pastor Lin Xiangao focuses on a pious Christian life and rewards in eternity while disengaging with the socio-political context. Different from Lin’s approach, the Three-Self church leader Wang Weifan aspires to a Chinese Christianity integrated with traditional Chinese culture, taking a culture-driven engagement with the socio- political context. In the latter period, the house church leader Sun Yi emphases the integrity and public nature of the church. He proposes to build the church as a model of moral integrity and organisational integrity, based on which the church should openly engage with the wider society. Contrastingly, the Three-Self churcH pastor Wu Weiqing emphasises a Christ-centred theology, by which he proposes faith in Christ as the solution to social injustice. Different from Sun’s blueprint of church integrity, Wu directs the church’s sense of social justice towards helping the poor through practical means like charity, social service and pastoral support. The present study reveals three trends of evolution in the Chinese churcH. The first trend is of house church Evangelicals, moving from a privatised faith to an open engagement with society. The second trend is of Three-Self church Evangelicals, moving from a culture-driven engagement to a society-oriented approach. The third trend is of Three-Self church and house church Evangelicals moving towards an increasing social concern across the two periods. Nevertheless, this increasing social concern has encountered changes under the state’s new political leadership in the second half of the 2010s, leaving the Evangelical’s quest for socio-political engagement to face new uncertainties in the near future. LAY SUMMARY This thesis explores the evolution of Evangelical socio-political approaches in contemporary China, arguing that Evangelicals in both the Three-Self church and the house churches have moved towards an increasing sense of social concern in the period from the 1980s to the 2010s. The period is divided into a former period (1980s to early-1990s) and a latter period (mid-1990s to 2010s). The late 1970s was the beginning of the Reform and Opening Up policy, which brought about a relatively open socio-political context and led to fast economic growth. Meanwhile, Protestant Christianity experienced fast growth in church numbers and Christian population. The mid-1990s marked a new phase of significant social change, which saw the growth of a socialist market economy partnered with moral decline and social injustice that continued to the 2010s. During this period, Protestant Christianity witnessed the rise of urban churches and growth of Christian intellectuals. The vast majority of Protestants during both periods would be considered Evangelical. This thesis is a study of historical theology, focusing on four Evangelical church figures as case studies. Among them, in the former period, the house church pastor Lin Xiangao focuses on a pious Christian life and rewards in eternity while disengaging with the socio-political context. Different from Lin’s approach, the Three-Self church leader Wang Weifan aspires to a Chinese Christianity integrated with traditional Chinese culture, taking a culture-driven engagement with tHe socio- political context. In the latter period, the house church leader Sun Yi emphases the integrity and public nature of the church. He proposes to build the church as a model of moral integrity and organisational integrity, based on which the church sHould openly engage with the wider society. Contrastingly, the Three-Self church pastor Wu Weiqing emphasises a Christ-centred theology, by which he proposes faith in Christ as the solution to social injustice. Different from Sun’s blueprint of church integrity, Wu directs the church’s sense of social justice towards helping the poor through practical means like charity, social service and pastoral support. The present study reveals three trends of evolution in the Chinese churcH. The first trend is of house church Evangelicals, moving from a privatised faith to an open engagement with the society. The second trend is of Three-Self church Evangelicals, moving from a culture-driven engagement to a society-oriented approach. The third trend is of Three-Self cHurch and house church Evangelicals moving towards an increasing social concern across the two periods. Nevertheless, this increasing social concern has encountered changes under the state’s new political leadership in the second half of the 2010s, leaving the Evangelical’s quest for socio-political engagement to face new uncertainties in the near future. TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Research Topic, Scope and Limitations ....................................................... 3 1.2 Literature Review ......................................................................................... 8 1.2.1 Pre-Cultural Revolution Studies .......................................................... 9 1.2.2 Studies Spanning the Twentieth Century .......................................... 12 1.2.3 Post-Cultural Revolution Studies ...................................................... 14 1.3 Primary Research Question and Subsidiary Questions .............................. 26 1.4 Wider Significance of the Topic ................................................................. 29 1.4.1 Chinese Evangelical Theology .......................................................... 29 1.4.2 Addressing the Shifting Socio-Political Context ............................... 30 1.4.3 Addressing Urban Churches .............................................................. 31 1.5 Methodology ............................................................................................... 32 II. THE HISTORICAL EVOLUTION ....................................................................... 37 2.1 Christian Responses in the First Half of the Twentieth Century (1900- 1949) ........................................................................................................... 37 2.1.1 Responses to Modernisation .............................................................. 38 2.1.2 Responses to Paternalism .................................................................. 53 2.1.3 Responses to the Fundamentalist-Modernist Controversy ................ 63 2.2 Christian Responses under the Young PRC (1949-1966) .......................... 68 2.2.1 The Approach of Accommodation .................................................... 69 2.2.2 The Approach of Resistance .............................................................. 73 2.3 Conclusion .................................................................................................. 76 III. LIN XIANGAO’S EXHORTATION REGARDING ETERNAL REWARDS .... 79 3.1 Profile of Lin
Load more

Recommended publications
  • HRWF Human Rights in the World Newsletter Bulgaria Table Of
    Table of Contents • EU votes for diplomats to boycott China Winter Olympics over rights abuses • CCP: 100th Anniversary of the party who killed 50 million • The CCP at 100: What next for human rights in EU-China relations? • Missing Tibetan monk was sentenced, sent to prison, family says • China occupies sacred land in Bhutan, threatens India • 900,000 Uyghur children: the saddest victims of genocide • EU suspends efforts to ratify controversial investment deal with China • Sanctions expose EU-China split • Recalling 10 March 1959 and origins of the CCP colonization in Tibet • Tibet: Repression increases before Tibetan Uprising Day • Uyghur Group Defends Detainee Database After Xinjiang Officials Allege ‘Fake Archive’ • Will the EU-China investment agreement survive Parliament’s scrutiny? • Experts demand suspension of EU-China Investment Deal • Sweden is about to deport activist to China—Torture and prison be damned • EU-CHINA: Advocacy for the Uyghur issue • Who are the Uyghurs? Canadian scholars give profound insights • Huawei enables China’s grave human rights violations • It's 'Captive Nations Week' — here's why we should care • EU-China relations under the German presidency: is this “Europe’s moment”? • If EU wants rule of law in China, it must help 'dissident' lawyers • Happening in Europe, too • U.N. experts call call for decisive measures to protect fundamental freedoms in China • EU-China Summit: Europe can, and should hold China to account • China is the world’s greatest threat to religious freedom and other basic human rights
    [Show full text]
  • Protestants in China
    Background Paper Protestants in China Issue date: 21 March 2013 (update) Review date: 21 September 2013 CONTENTS 1. Overview ................................................................................................................................... 2 2. History ....................................................................................................................................... 2 3. Number of Adherents ................................................................................................................ 3 4. Official Government Policy on Religion .................................................................................. 4 5. Three Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM) and the China Christian Council (CCC) ................... 5 6. Registered Churches .................................................................................................................. 6 7. Unregistered Churches/ Unregistered Protestant Groups .......................................................... 7 8. House Churches ......................................................................................................................... 8 9. Protestant Denominations in China ........................................................................................... 9 10. Protestant Beliefs and Practices ............................................................................................ 10 11. Cults, sects and heterodox Protestant groups ........................................................................ 14
    [Show full text]
  • Christian History & Biography
    Issue 98: Christianity in China As for Me and My House The house-church movement survived persecution and created a surge of Christian growth across China. Tony Lambert On the eve of the Communist victory in 1949, there were around one million Protestants (of all denominations) in China. In 2007, even the most conservative official polls reported 40 million, and these do not take into account the millions of secret Christians in the Communist Party and the government. What accounts for this astounding growth? Many observers point to the role of Chinese house churches. The house-church movement began in the pre-1949 missionary era. New converts—especially in evangelical missions like the China Inland Mission and the Christian & Missionary Alliance—would often meet in homes. Also, the rapidly growing independent churches, such as the True Jesus Church, the Little Flock, and the Jesus Family, stressed lay ministry and evangelism. The Little Flock had no pastors, relying on every "brother" to lead ministry, and attracted many educated city people and students who were dissatisfied with the traditional foreign missions and denominations. The Jesus Family practiced communal living and attracted the rural poor. These independent churches were uniquely placed to survive, and eventually flourish, in the new, strictly-controlled environment. In the early 1950s, the Three-Self Patriotic Movement eliminated denominations and created a stifling political control over the dwindling churches. Many believers quietly began to pull out of this system.
    [Show full text]
  • Christian House Church Members by the Public
    Responses to Information Requests - Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Page 1 of 8 Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Home > Research Program > Responses to Information Requests Responses to Information Requests Responses to Information Requests (RIR) respond to focused Requests for Information that are submitted to the Research Directorate in the course of the refugee protection determination process. The database contains a seven- year archive of English and French RIRs. Earlier RIRs may be found on the UNHCR's Refworld website. Please note that some RIRs have attachments which are not electronically accessible. To obtain a PDF copy of an RIR attachment please email [email protected]. 10 October 2014 CHN104966.E China: Treatment of "ordinary" Christian house church members by the Public Security Bureau (PSB), including treatment of children of house church members (2009-2014) Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa 1. House Church Demography According to the Bertelsmann Stiftung Transformation Index (BTI), which analyzes the quality of democracy and political management in 128 countries (Bertelsmann Stiftung n.d.), there are an estimated 80 million Christians in China, "many of whom congregate in illegal house churches" (ibid. 2014, 5). The Wall Street Journal reports that house church members could number between 30 and 60 million (29 July 2011). Voice of America (VOA) notes that the exact number of Christians is difficult to estimate because many worship at underground house churches (VOA 16 June 2014). For detailed information on the estimated number of registered and unregistered Christians in China, by denomination, as of 2012, see Response to Information Request CHN104189.
    [Show full text]
  • Chinese Protestant Christianity Today Daniel H. Bays
    Chinese Protestant Christianity Today Daniel H. Bays ABSTRACT Protestant Christianity has been a prominent part of the general religious resurgence in China in the past two decades. In many ways it is the most striking example of that resurgence. Along with Roman Catholics, as of the 1950s Chinese Protestants carried the heavy historical liability of association with Western domi- nation or imperialism in China, yet they have not only overcome that inheritance but have achieved remarkable growth. Popular media and human rights organizations in the West, as well as various Christian groups, publish a wide variety of information and commentary on Chinese Protestants. This article first traces the gradual extension of interest in Chinese Protestants from Christian circles to the scholarly world during the last two decades, and then discusses salient characteristics of the Protestant movement today. These include its size and rate of growth, the role of Church–state relations, the continuing foreign legacy in some parts of the Church, the strong flavour of popular religion which suffuses Protestantism today, the discourse of Chinese intellectuals on Christianity, and Protestantism in the context of the rapid economic changes occurring in China, concluding with a perspective from world Christianity. Protestant Christianity has been a prominent part of the general religious resurgence in China in the past two decades. Today, on any given Sunday there are almost certainly more Protestants in church in China than in all of Europe.1 One recent thoughtful scholarly assessment characterizes Protestantism as “flourishing” though also “fractured” (organizationally) and “fragile” (due to limits on the social and cultural role of the Church).2 And popular media and human rights organizations in the West, as well as various Christian groups, publish a wide variety of information and commentary on Chinese Protestants.
    [Show full text]
  • Human Rights in China and U.S. Policy: Issues for the 117Th Congress
    Human Rights in China and U.S. Policy: Issues for the 117th Congress March 31, 2021 Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov R46750 SUMMARY R46750 Human Rights in China and U.S. Policy: Issues March 31, 2021 for the 117th Congress Thomas Lum U.S. concern over human rights in China has been a central issue in U.S.-China relations, Specialist in Asian Affairs particularly since the Tiananmen crackdown in 1989. In recent years, human rights conditions in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) have deteriorated, while bilateral tensions related to trade Michael A. Weber and security have increased, possibly creating both constraints and opportunities for U.S. policy Analyst in Foreign Affairs on human rights. After consolidating power in 2013, Chinese Communist Party General Secretary and State President Xi Jinping intensified and expanded the reassertion of party control over society that began toward the end of the term of his predecessor, Hu Jintao. Since 2017, the government has enacted new laws that place further restrictions on civil society in the name of national security, authorize greater controls over minority and religious groups, and further constrain the freedoms of PRC citizens. Government methods of social and political control are evolving to include the widespread use of sophisticated surveillance and big data technologies. Arrests of human rights advocates and lawyers intensified in 2015, followed by party efforts to instill ideological conformity across various spheres of society. In 2016, President Xi launched a policy known as “Sinicization,” under which the government has taken additional measures to compel China’s religious practitioners and ethnic minorities to conform to Han Chinese culture, support China’s socialist system as defined by the Communist Party, abide by Communist Party policies, and reduce ethnic differences and foreign influences.
    [Show full text]
  • Religion in China BKGA 85 Religion Inchina and Bernhard Scheid Edited by Max Deeg Major Concepts and Minority Positions MAX DEEG, BERNHARD SCHEID (EDS.)
    Religions of foreign origin have shaped Chinese cultural history much stronger than generally assumed and continue to have impact on Chinese society in varying regional degrees. The essays collected in the present volume put a special emphasis on these “foreign” and less familiar aspects of Chinese religion. Apart from an introductory article on Daoism (the BKGA 85 BKGA Religion in China proto­typical autochthonous religion of China), the volume reflects China’s encounter with religions of the so-called Western Regions, starting from the adoption of Indian Buddhism to early settlements of religious minorities from the Near East (Islam, Christianity, and Judaism) and the early modern debates between Confucians and Christian missionaries. Contemporary Major Concepts and religious minorities, their specific social problems, and their regional diversities are discussed in the cases of Abrahamitic traditions in China. The volume therefore contributes to our understanding of most recent and Minority Positions potentially violent religio-political phenomena such as, for instance, Islamist movements in the People’s Republic of China. Religion in China Religion ∙ Max DEEG is Professor of Buddhist Studies at the University of Cardiff. His research interests include in particular Buddhist narratives and their roles for the construction of identity in premodern Buddhist communities. Bernhard SCHEID is a senior research fellow at the Austrian Academy of Sciences. His research focuses on the history of Japanese religions and the interaction of Buddhism with local religions, in particular with Japanese Shintō. Max Deeg, Bernhard Scheid (eds.) Deeg, Max Bernhard ISBN 978-3-7001-7759-3 Edited by Max Deeg and Bernhard Scheid Printed and bound in the EU SBph 862 MAX DEEG, BERNHARD SCHEID (EDS.) RELIGION IN CHINA: MAJOR CONCEPTS AND MINORITY POSITIONS ÖSTERREICHISCHE AKADEMIE DER WISSENSCHAFTEN PHILOSOPHISCH-HISTORISCHE KLASSE SITZUNGSBERICHTE, 862.
    [Show full text]
  • The Broad and Sustained Offensive on Human Rights That Started After President Xi Jinping Took Power Five Years Ago Showed No Sign of Abating in 2017
    JANUARY 2018 COUNTRY SUMMARY China The broad and sustained offensive on human rights that started after President Xi Jinping took power five years ago showed no sign of abating in 2017. The death of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo in a hospital under heavy guard in July highlighted the Chinese government’s deepening contempt for rights. The near future for human rights appears grim, especially as Xi is expected to remain in power at least until 2022. Foreign governments did little in 2017 to push back against China’s worsening rights record at home and abroad. The Chinese government, which already oversees one of the strictest online censorship regimes in the world, limited the provision of censorship circumvention tools and strengthened ideological control over education and mass media in 2017. Schools and state media incessantly tout the supremacy of the Chinese Communist Party, and, increasingly, of President Xi Jinping as “core” leader. Authorities subjected more human rights defenders—including foreigners—to show trials in 2017, airing excerpted forced confessions and court trials on state television and social media. Police ensured the detainees’ compliance by torturing some of them, denying them access to lawyers of their choice, and holding them incommunicado for months. In Xinjiang, a nominally autonomous region with 11 million Turkic Muslim Uyghurs, authorities stepped up mass surveillance and the security presence despite the lack of evidence demonstrating an organized threat. They also adopted new policies denying Uyghurs cultural and religious rights. Hong Kong’s human rights record took a dark turn. Hong Kong courts disqualified four pro-democracy lawmakers in July and jailed three prominent pro-democracy student leaders in August.
    [Show full text]
  • Air Annual Issue, Vol. 1, 2017
    Grasp the pattern, read the trend Asia in Review (AiR) Brought to you by CPG AiR Annual Issue, Vol. 1, 2017 Table of Contents I. Law and Politics in Asia ............................................................................................................................................................................3 1. Bangladesh ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 3 2. Cambodia ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 9 3. China .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 19 4. India ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 45 5. Indonesia ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 61 6. Japan .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 76 7. Laos ...............................................................................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Identity Tensions Among Chinese Intellectual Christians a Pa
    “Who Am I”: Identity Tensions Among Chinese Intellectual Christians A paper was presented at the annual meeting of the Association for the Sociology of Religion, San Francisco, California, August 14, 2004 Jianbo Huang Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Building 6, 27 Zhongguancun South Street Haidian, Beijing PR China 8610—88218477 [email protected] Since the Reform and Opening Up policy was implemented in 1978, a so-called tide of “Christianity Fever” has swept across the intellectual and academic circle. The concern and zeal they have for Christianity are reflected in the research, comments and translation of its history, theories, doctrines and persons, as well as stimulating the formation of the openness of recognizing Christianity afresh (or correctly). In this rising tide of Christianity in China, some intellectuals have accepted the “cross” and entered the hall of Christian belief including university students, teachers, writers, painters, scholars and scientists. Some overseas Chinese students had converted even earlier (Li, 1996). Obviously, Christianity has a special attraction for them. They were attracted by the doctrines and teachings, and /or personal eXposure to Christian fellowships, then converted and were baptized. Looking back on the beginning of the 20th century, it was also the intellectuals who started a vigorous “anti-Christian movement”, taking the chance of the May Fourth Movement in 1919 and the New Culture Movement, holding up the banners of “Mr. D” (democracy) and “Mr. S” (science). Generally speaking, they wanted to thrust Christianity aside because they assumed that religion equals superstition and was incompatible with science. They reasoned that science was a necessity if the life of the Chinese people was to be improved and China’s international status be promoted (Li, 1994:195-222).
    [Show full text]
  • Shanghai, China Overview Introduction
    Shanghai, China Overview Introduction The name Shanghai still conjures images of romance, mystery and adventure, but for decades it was an austere backwater. After the success of Mao Zedong's communist revolution in 1949, the authorities clamped down hard on Shanghai, castigating China's second city for its prewar status as a playground of gangsters and colonial adventurers. And so it was. In its heyday, the 1920s and '30s, cosmopolitan Shanghai was a dynamic melting pot for people, ideas and money from all over the planet. Business boomed, fortunes were made, and everything seemed possible. It was a time of breakneck industrial progress, swaggering confidence and smoky jazz venues. Thanks to economic reforms implemented in the 1980s by Deng Xiaoping, Shanghai's commercial potential has reemerged and is flourishing again. Stand today on the historic Bund and look across the Huangpu River. The soaring 1,614-ft/492-m Shanghai World Financial Center tower looms over the ambitious skyline of the Pudong financial district. Alongside it are other key landmarks: the glittering, 88- story Jinmao Building; the rocket-shaped Oriental Pearl TV Tower; and the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The 128-story Shanghai Tower is the tallest building in China (and, after the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the second-tallest in the world). Glass-and-steel skyscrapers reach for the clouds, Mercedes sedans cruise the neon-lit streets, luxury- brand boutiques stock all the stylish trappings available in New York, and the restaurant, bar and clubbing scene pulsates with an energy all its own. Perhaps more than any other city in Asia, Shanghai has the confidence and sheer determination to forge a glittering future as one of the world's most important commercial centers.
    [Show full text]
  • Members of the Friends of the Church in China Are Christians In
    Members of the Friends of the Church in China are Christians in Britain and Ireland who seek to promote contact, partnership and mutual understanding with Christians in China. ………………………………………………………………………………. Annual Report for 1st September 2019 to 31st August 2020 Registered as a charity in England and Wales Charity number: 1004221 Registered charity address: Flat 8 Elgar House Boyton Close London N8 7BD Email: [email protected] Website: www.thefcc.org Trustees Antony Rose The Revd Rachel Hextall The Revd Lawrence Braschi Ian Blaney (General Secretary) Angela Evans (Vice-Chair) The Venerable Godfrey Stone (Chair) Rosie Carter William (Bill) Birmingham Dot Stone (Membership Secretary) James (Jim) Gibson (Treasurer) Banking details: Co-operative Bank, PO Box 250, Delf house, Skelmersdale, WN8 6WT Sort code 08-92-99; Account no 65265110. External Examiner: Margaret A Logan, 6 Shillingworth Place, Bridge of Weir, Renfrewshire, PA11 3DY. ……………………………………………………………………………………………… The ‘Friends of the Church in China’ – Annual Report 2020 2020 – a year in overview 2020 has been a year of new things for FCC – not by our own designing, but graciously emerging through changed circumstances. The Annual Meeting in November was symptomatic of this – it was held on line, was attended by 50 members and supporters, and allowed a dozen or so people to make valuable contributions alongside the formal business. This built on a pattern previously developed at a committee meeting, and a subsequent members’ meeting in the summer, at which Chinese friends (coming from Shanghai, Wuhan and Hong Kong) were able to join the virtual conversations of British-based members. The year began with a financial gift going from FCC to a joint fund set up by the China Christian Council (CCC) and the Amity Foundation in response to the Covid epidemic.
    [Show full text]