Religion in China

Blog Entries

Taking Confucian Spirituality Seriously

The Renovation of the Heart in Dallas Willard and Zhu Xi

We should not erect an artificial barrier to sharing the gospel of Jesus by insisting on a Western language that non-Christians in Asia are not familiar with. Jesus is the answer, yes, but to what questions? East Asian people have a rich tradition of spiritual formation in the general sense of renovating the heart.

Blog Entries

Taking Chinese Spirituality Seriously

Engaging with Confucian, Daoist, and Buddhist Spiritualities

Christians need to acknowledge a fact. We might disagree on whether Confucianism is a religion or not. But Confucianism, together with Daoism and Buddhism, are spiritual traditions that have provided “chicken soup” for Chinese souls for more than two thousand years.

Blog Entries

Lecture Video: New Civil Religion in China—Opportunity for Engagement?

Johnson talked about how China is using civil religion, which he defines as the government using religion and religious images to legitimize its rule. This has been most visible in the government’s more tolerant attitude towards what it considers to be indigenized religions.

Blog Entries

China’s New Civil Religion

A Challenge and Opportunity for Engagement: Public Lecture

China is…in the midst of a religious boom, which the government is trying to use to further its grip on power… But can authoritarianism and religious life coexist?

Resource Corner

A Reader’s Guide to Laws and Regulations of the New Era

References for your further reading that cover national level changes in China in regulations and administrative measures pertaining directly to religion.

Blog Entries

Talking about Souls of China

January Book Club

Do you love to read? Do you love to read books about China? Do you love to discuss books about China? If yes, then this is for you.

Blog Entries

Will History Repeat Itself?

Whether a century ago or today, whatever our China stories may purport to tell us about being apolitical, of “leaving our politics at the door” or “staying out of politics,” one of the hard lessons of history is that foreign Christian involvement in China is unavoidably political.

Blog Entries

The Tricolor Religious Market and the Growth of Christianity

The Great Awakening in China (3)

A sociological approach to the religious landscape in China is helpful in understanding the growth of Christianity in recent years.

Blog Entries

Spiritual Awakenings and Reawakenings

The Great Awakening in China (2)

During the 1980s, more and more people in China turned to religion. The turn toward religion included young and old, rural and urban, people who were nearly illiterate and university professors. While many came to Christianity, others returned to Confucianism, Islam, and Buddhism.

Blog Entries

The Changing Religious Landscape in Modernizing China

The Great Awakening in China (1)

In 1979, churches, temples and mosques began to be restored and reopened for religious activities. That was the beginning of the economic reform era, and it was also the beginning of the Chinese Great Awakening.