Christianity in China

The church survived the Cultural Revolution that began in 1949, but changed under the growing control of the government.

In 1950, the “Christian Manifesto” was written by a liberal Christian, which called for Chinese Christians to reject foreign control of their congregations.

In 1951, the “Three-Self Patriotic Movement” (TSPM) was begun by Cantonese Christian Wu Yaozong. In keeping with the isolation that came about during that time, the purpose of the TSPM was to force foreign church influences out of China.

“Three-Self” stood for “self-government, self-support and self-propagation”. The removal of the foreign influences from the Christian churches in China was done to show the new People’s Republic that Christians in China could be counted on to be patriotic to the new party.

When the TSPM became official in 1954, Protestant churches that did not join endured pressure by the state to close them, and many who did join faced closure as well.

In 1966, all churches were closed, and the TSPM became defunct. It was not until 1979 when Deng Xiaoping assumed power that churches were allowed to reopen and the TSPM began to function again as a government agency.

In 1980, another agency called the China Christian Council (CCC) was begun to register and represent Protestant churches in the World Council of Churches.

The only official churches in China today are those that have registered with the TSPM. A large number of churches have not registered out of fear and mistrust of the government. Given that many Christians were imprisoned or killed during the Cultural Revolution, this mistrust is understandable. These congregations typically meet in secrecy in homes. Those who are caught still face imprisonment.

Despite China’s increasing acceptance of all things Western, things are still not great for Christianity or other religions in China.

According to the 2005 Human Rights Watch World Report, religion is tolerated, but considered a threat to their citizen’s loyalty to the state.

The Communist Party’s official stance is that religion will not last as an organization or belief, but should be controlled to prevent it from becoming a political force.

The official policy is that there will be enough regulation to control organized religious groups, but not enough to force them underground where they will be difficult to monitor.

The only religions that are recognized by the government are Buddhism, Catholicism, Islam, Daoism and Protestantism. The government monitors each congregation’s financial activities, meetings and publications. Church personnel must be approved by the government. Falungong, a cult that has some similarities to Buddhism and Taoism, seems to have been particularly singled out for mass imprisonments and “re-education”.

The World Watch Report also reported that “house churches” (Christian congregations who refuse to register with the government) are also being persecuted in a similar way, but not to the same degree. The house churches are independent congregations without a central authority, so the government does not fear their ability to become a political force. Members of house churches that do suffer from persecution from the state can have all their personal belongings taken if they are unable to pay heavy fines. Others may be sent to prison or to work camps for “reeducation through labor”.

There have been some successes for Christianity in China.

The fact that the church was kept alive by Chinese Christians (at great peril) during the Cultural Revolution attests to the depth of their faith. Bibles, which in the past could only be obtained from the government from those who were willing to register their identity, have been distributed legally, without registration, by the millions.

As our lives become more intertwined by trade, more opportunities will exist for the gospel to spread in China. China will become more tolerant of Christianity as long as it is practical to do so. That is why it is so important for America to remain a Christian nation.