I think we should jump right into an issue that I know many of you care deeply about: the spread of Christianity in China. My professor posed this question to us recently on his blog: Has economic development encouraged or discouraged the growth of Christianity in China?
To give you some background, here is a 3-minute video called Christianity in China and a 2007 NY Times article called From Torture to Plaintiff: a Pilgrim's Progress in China.
I asked John Morris, an "online missionary" and dear friend of ours, to share his views on this subject. John founded his ministry, Acts One Eight, to spread the Gospel to the 1.9 billion (and counting) Internet users around the world. To learn more, you can visit his website by clicking here. John makes some interesting observations about the spread of Christianity in China, check it out:
Extreme, very extreme, oppression can stifle the Church anywhere as it does under some extremely oppressive governments in the Middle East. Under less extreme oppression, the true Church often thrives. When Christianity is legalized or tolerated, there can be a significant decline over time in the seriousness, commitment, Biblical knowledge, and purity of the Christians and the Church (example is the US). Oppression in China has varied from severe ... to extreme ... to very, very extreme.
It is estimated that in some provinces ~50% of the people are Christian. In others, Christianity is almost not seen. My sources agree that there are ~100,000,000 Christians in China.
We must keep in mind that China lets the rest of the world see what China wants them to see. The video and article you referenced are probably tainted by that. It is not as good as portrayed in them. In some provinces, even when all laws are followed, Christians are both persecuted and arrested by the authorities.
Christianity is rising rapidly in China and should continue to do so in the immediate future if politics and economics continue on their present course.
The Westernization (if that is the right word) of China will distract the young from Christianity. The desire for personal peace (unchallenged independence) and the desire for affluence (wealth and the stuff it buys) can pull people away from their need for God (see Mark 10:17-27) and for the Church. Predictably, the appeal of the false health and wealth Gospel is rising in some of the more Westernized areas of China.
I think John touches both sides of the issue. On one hand, economic development may be helping spread Christianity in China if it is helping to reduce the amount of repression on the church.
I just finished reading Susan Shirk’s China: Fragile Superpower (a book I'll review on this blog soon). According to Shirk, after their “close call” in 1989 (Tiananmen Square), China’s leaders became fixated on what they call “social stability” as a way to stay in power. “Society is changing so fast that Communist politicians can’t discern which groups are solidly in their camp and which groups might form the base of an opposition – so they try to satisfy them all,” says Shirk. In other words, they are having nightmares about which straw will break the camel's back.
This suggests that the economic rise in China may be reducing oppression on Christianity.
However, what I hear John saying is that, in the long run, economic development will be a barrier to the church's spread. This explosion of relative affluence will provide people with the temporary satisfaction that "stuff" provides thus distracting them from the deeper meaning provided by one's faith.
After thinking about it, I can see why some would argue that economic development provides more harm then good in terms of the spiritual wellbeing of the Chinese people. However, I ultimately believe that this economic rise is lifting the majority of Chinese out of extreme poverty. This rise is providing them with clean water, heated homes, and the ability to travel across their country to see loved ones not seen in years. Yes, I'm sure that there are pockets - particularly among the youth - where affluence is giving people an excuse to ignore questions of eternity. But what distracts a few empowers many more.
I am expecting many of you to have questions and/or opinions about this topic. Please share them with all of us by commenting on this post.
This would be an ideal question for you to ask young Chinese you will have the opportunity to meet if we are able to work in a visit to English Corner (Beijing) this year. Just be careful how you ask it, do so in a way that allows them to maintain face, etc. I think that on the ground people there, both expat and Chinese, are the best way to test some of this. Of course, China too is a country of countries, so the answer you get in Shenzhen may be very different than the one you get in Shanghai or Urumqi. This is also a complicated subject. An economist will give you a different read than a priest, than a journalist, than a factory owner, than a university student, etc. - Prof. Carr
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