China’s intellectuals turn to Christ!

Edited by Tony Lambert, OMF China Researcher

There is plenty of evidence that China’s students and intellectuals are turning to Christ in increasing numbers. The move of God’s Spirit is such that few campuses now do not have some form of Christian witness (albeit sometimes quite small).

In 2001 the Director of Christian Culture at the People’s University (Renda) in Beijing conducted a survey of religious opinions among students. There were 3.6 percent who said they were Christians but some 60 percent said they were interested in Christianity. A leading Beijing intellectual claimed that “in Beijing we see more and more people in writers’ circles who are Christians. There is even a new literary style called ‘biblical’ in Chinese. It means objective, truthful, terse.”

In 2003 the book Jesus in Beijing gave first-hand reports of top artists, writers and academics who had become believers. For instance, one of China’s most talented young conductors became a Christian in 1996 and began to attend various house churches in Beijing. He met his wife at a Christian fellowship.

Most students do not attend church but many are interested in Christian values. A student at the Yanjing Theological Seminary in Beijing said recently: “We Christians have to show society what love is all about. Chinese tradition has not taught us to love unconditionally. It has always been love someone who can offer you something. We have to love Christians and non-Christians alike.”

All of this might be dismissed by some as Christian propaganda or exaggeration. So it is highly significant that the prestigious magazine The Economist (which is more at home with dollars and stock markets than with religion!) has also taken note of this growing trend among China’s intellectuals.

CHRISTIANITY IS BECOMING POPULAR WITH CHINA’S URBAN ELITE

It is Protestantism that in recent years has spread most rapidly in China, even among the usually skeptical urban elite.

Quantifying Christian belief in China is fraught with difficulty. The avowedly atheist authorities try to prevent surveys by foreign or Chinese researchers that might challenge the official view that Christianity is still a marginal phenomenon. Numbers presented by Christian activists on the other hand may reflect wishful thinking. Officially there are 5 million baptized Catholics and 15 million Protestants. Vatican Catholics believe there are more than 10 million Catholics. The American State Department quoted estimates for the Protestant community ranging from 30-90 million. These unofficial tallies would mean that 2-7 percent of China’s population is Christian.

Most striking in recent years has been the spread of Christianity among urban intellectuals and business people. A Chinese academic (and Party member) says that in the past five years especially, Christianity has flourished on university campuses. Most universities, he says, have several clandestine Christian “fellowships” comprising students, graduates and teachers who meet regularly to read the Bible and discuss their faith. At Renmin University in Beijing Li, Qiuling says his lectures on western religious culture are not only fully attended by the 100 students registered, but also by dozens of others who simply want to listen in.

Anecdotal evidence suggests a growing interest in Christianity among business people. Some have embraced the faith during studies in the West. The academic cited above says the recent spread of Christianity among this educated elite marks a “very critical change” in the development of religion in China.

Some say it denotes a crisis of faith over the failings of communist ideology. China’s conversion to capitalism has prompted a search for values that might help counter the negative side-effects of this transformation such as corruption. But, if so, why not turn to faiths with a much longer history in China, such as Buddhism, Taoism or Confucianism?

These religions are also enjoying a revival. But Christianity appeals particularly to intellectuals because it is the faith most deeply rooted in the countries that well-educated Chinese most envy—principally America. “Some people have begun to think that the birth of capitalism and modern science in the West is not entirely unrelated to Christianity,” says Mr. Li.

None of this has gone unnoticed by China’s leaders. Last year they launched a campaign to promote atheism in schools. An internal Party document recently railed against “illegal missionary activity.” New regulations on religious activity took effect in March. These insisted the government must maintain its grip on religions and places of worship. Yet this grip is clearly faltering. (Extracts from a longer article published in The Economist 23 April 2005)

A FLOURISHING HOUSE-CHURCH
“My church is a house church which was established in 2001. Now we have nearly 150 brothers and sisters. Most are young people and 60-70 percent are married couples. Many are university graduates and work in companies. Our church has Sunday worship and Sunday school for both children and adults. We also have small group fellowships and training of Christian workers. There are 10 group fellowships, divided into men and women, with ten people in each. I feel God is working mightily in these small groups. Many have come to faith, and many have matured quickly in their faith in these small groups.” (A recent letter to FEBC)

HOUSE-CHURCH LEADER ON TRIAL (BBC 6 July 2005)
Chinese Christians must worship in state-approved churches. The leader of an underground Chinese church is due to appear in a Beijing court accused of illegally printing more than 200,000 Bibles.

Cai Zuohua with his wife and two other church members has been charged with “illegal business practices,” his lawyers said. He has already been in detention 10 months.

Although Bibles are not illegal in China, only one firm is permitted by the State to print them. Cai’s lawyer conceded he was not optimistic about the verdict for the three detainees. “It is impossible for them to be found innocent, but I have confidence to strive for lighter sentences,” he told the French news agency AFP. “The books in no way were going to enter the market; they were to be given away free of charge to church members. The court should not be used to oppress religion and religious freedoms, but the authorities are always using economics as a pretext to deal with religious issues.”

FARMERS’ RIOTS—“A SIGN OF DEMOCRACY”
(South China Morning Post Hong Kong 4 July 2005)
Violent protests by the mainland’s farmers are inevitable due to the country’s enormous social and economic changes, according to a top central government official in charge of agricultural policy.

While stressing he did not approve of violence, the recent spate of protests demonstrated that farmers now knew how to protect their rights and protest, said Mr. Chen, vice-minister of the office of the Central Leading Group on Financial and Economic Affairs.

The Mainland has been hit by a spate of violent protests by farmers in recent weeks, mainly over land disputes and pollution. In April thousands of farmers fought a bloody battle with police and officials over unpopular chemical plants in Dongyang, Zhejiang province. At least six people were killed in Hebei province last month when several hundred armed thugs attacked villagers who refused to hand over their land to an electronics factory.

“On the one hand riots like the one in Dongyang are a tragedy and show that local authorities failed to do a proper job,” Mr. Chen said. “But on the other hand they show that our farmers know how to protect their rights, which is a good thing. It shows farmers’ democratic awareness is improving, but unfortunately their sense of law and order has not improved as quickly.”

Uncharacteristic of officials’ usual aversion to sensitive issues, Mr. Chen is ready to admit the problems and discuss policy from a unique perspective. Referring to several damning reports on the plight of farmers that have attracted international attention, he said more protests had gone unreported. “There are at least 3 million villages across the country, and you can imagine how many problems crop up from day to day. If there are 30,000 villages having problems, that accounts for only one percent of the total. People have to look at this from a national perspective and against a backdrop of phenomenal social and economic change. Overseas media tend to play up the riots and it is their job to do so. But you have to remember things are getting better for farmers generally and few of them would tell you they want to go back to the past despite their complaints.”

Mr. Chen hailed the role of the media and Internet in reporting the riots, which he said enabled the higher authorities to act quickly. He said as China was going through a critical stage of reform, the interests of certain groups like farmers could be easily hurt.

Copyright 2005 OMF International