Mary Li Ma
Mary Li Ma (MA Li) holds a PhD in sociology from Cornell University.
Currently a research fellow at the Henry Institute of Christianity and Public Life at Calvin University, Dr. Ma and her husband LI Jin have coauthored articles, book chapters, and are the authors of Surviving the State, Remaking the Church: A Sociological Portrait of Christians in Mainland China. They have guest edited several issues of the ChinaSource Quarterly.
Dr. Ma is also the author of The Chinese Exodus: A Theology of Migration, Urbanism and Alienation in Contemporary China, Religious Entrepreneurism in China's Urban House Churches: The Rise and Fall of Early Rain Reformed Presbyterian Church, and 通往阿斯兰的国度：C.S.路易斯《纳尼亚传奇》导读, a theological guide to C.S.Lewis’s Narnia series in the Chinese language.
Dr. Ma is a columnist on social and economic issues for Caixin.com and blogs at Theology and Society.
Who Is Doing Public Theology in China?
A Book Review
A review of Alexander Chow's Chinese Public Theology: Generational Shifts and Confucian Imagination in Chinese Christianity.
Surviving the State, Remaking the Church
A Sociological Portrait of Christians in Mainland China
Selected by the International Bulletin of Mission Research as one of the ten outstanding books of 2017 for Missions Studies, this sociological portrait presents how Chinese Christians have coped with life under a hostile regime over a span of different historical periods, and how Christian churches as collective entities have been reshaped by ripples of social change.
My ChinaSource Story
I met Dr. Brent Fulton in the spring of 2008 at a ChinaSource consultation in Shenzhen.
Peoples of China
Conversation with a Migrant-Worker Church Minister
An interview by Dr. Mary Ma with the minister of a migrant worker’s urban church which identifies a number of issues characteristic of urban churches comprised of migrant workers from rural areas. These concerns include living conditions, economic status, long work hours, mobility, and other factors that all contribute to the church’s spiritual health and stability.
Lead Article
The City and the Church
Towards an Urban Theology in China
As China becomes increasingly urbanized, an urban theology for ministry is needed. As modern man finds himself slowly enmeshed in urban living, he experiences materialism, relativism, and an increasingly segmented society. He questions what is real and true, and who God is. These questions can become points of contact for urban ministry. Dr. Ma provides some guidelines for forming an urban theology for ministry in urban China.
Supporting Article
The Decay of the Chinese Family
The stresses and conflicts found within Chinese families are increasing with urbanization that often forces families to live apart. After discussing some of the major pressures that families face in today’s China, the author delineates some of the principles needed for building a good family foundation.
Peoples of China
Intergenerational Challenges in Christian Marriages
A Sociological Case Study of Urban Young Christians in China
Over recent generations, marriage expectations have changed. For young Christians in China, marriages are taking on new ethical norms that include challenges. Parental pressures in finding a spouse as well as in planning a wedding can create much tension. After marriage, child-bearing and rearing continue to generate challenges between the young couple and their parents. The one-child policy has exacerbated these difficulties. Christian couples are swimming against many secular tides in these areas.