ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | March 27, 2025

Using Apps in China Feels Like a Different World (March 19, 2025, National Committee on U.S.-China Relations) China's internet is largely closed to the outside world, so platforms are specifically designed for Chinese user needs.

Blog Entries

Stories You May Have Missed

In this era of development, China’s Christians are telling new stories, some of which challenge our familiar narratives about China and its church. Are we listening?

Editorials

Flipping the Page—Back to ChinaSource Journal

We’ve decided to turn back a page in our history and restore the name of our flagship publication from ChinaSource Quarterly back to ChinaSource Journal.

Editorials

Whose Zhongguohua Is It Anyway?

Five Voices on Contemporary Sinicization Debates

Developing Chinese religions is not a socio-cultural or religious concern but one of international relations and national security.

Lead Article

What Is the Significance of the “Sinicization of Christianity”?

—A Perspective from Religious Studies

Christianity has endured over 1,300 years of history in China, weathering many challenges and undergoing a long course of “assimilation.”

Supporting Article

The Indigenization and Zhongguohua of Christianity

Can Zhongguohua be equated with the notion of indigenization? An attempt to draw a comparison is pursued through the lens of three distinctive dimensions.

Supporting Article

Countering Infiltration and Going Global

The Dual Strategy of the Sinicization of Christianity

In recent years, the approach to religious affairs has shifted toward the “Sinicization of Christianity.” This strategy is rooted in two key objectives: “countering infiltration” and “going global.”

Supporting Article

Faith Under Party Rule

The Sinicization of Religion in China

Sinicization is the UFWD’s agenda for Chinese religious associations. All religions are to be Sinicized, even Taoism. But the challenge of bringing “foreign religions” like Christianity and Islam into the Party’s agenda requires increased effort.

Supporting Article

How Zhongguohua Was Adopted as a Path in China’s Current Religious Policy

Xi’s directive to align all religions with Zhongguohua is not only rooted in academic and institutional history but is also deeply embedded in the traditions of the official Protestant church.

Book Reviews

On Rhetorics and Lived Religion

A Review of “The Sinicization of Chinese Religions: From Above and Below”

The work is a must-read for anyone concerned with the direction of Chinese religions and China’s religious policy.