by Kevin Murphy Wenzhou Church in Sanjiang Jerusalem of the East Planned demolition 12 years and 30 million yuan 47 million to build 1000 members in arms Guarded by Military ID: 194996
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Slide1
State of Christianity in China
by Kevin MurphySlide2
Wenzhou Church in Sanjiang
“Jerusalem of the East”
Planned
demolition
12 years and 30 million yuan ($4.7 million) to build1,000 members in armsGuarded by Military and PoliceDeal in placeSlide3Slide4Slide5Slide6
Motivation
Crackdown on Christians?
Supposedly 10 more
churches
Wenzhou and HangzhouPick up in repression (55%)Gov deniesZhejiang Party Secretary Xia Baolong. “Too conspicuous.”Churches are oversizedWenzhou; ½ acre vs. 2 acresGiven a chance to “self rectify”5 local government officials being investigated.Slide7
Background on Christians in China
The state only recognizes five official religions—Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism, and Protestantism
58 million Protestants 67 million total Christians according to Pew Research
in 1949 China’s Protestants numbered just 1 million persons and its entire Christian community was believed to be about 3 millionSlide8
Background on Christians in China
Many Catholics do not register.Catholics aren’t allowed to pledge allegiance to any foreign figures, like the Pope. Haven’t been allowed to since 1951.
Large underground church system
Large amount of “house churches”.
the official Church which fears the house churches may provoke a backlash.Slide9
The Future
China’s Protestant population will swell
to 160
million in 2025.
China’s overall Christian population could reach 247 million people by 2030.The official line in China is that the government pledges “to protect and respect religion until such time as religion itself will disappear.”The State fears the influence of zealous American evangelism and some of the House Church theology has those characteristics, but, in many other respects, it seems to be an indigenous Chinese movement - charismatic, energetic and young.Between 2006 and 2013, ChinaAid says persecution has become “55.23% worse.”Slide10
Questions?Slide11
Sources
Elgot, Jessica. "Fears Of Crackdown On Christians As China Demolishes Church." Thehuffingtonpost.co.uk
. The Huffington Post UK, 28 Apr. 2014. Web. 01 May 2014.
Phillips, Tom. "China Accused of Anti-Christian Campaign as Church Demolition Begins."
The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 28 Apr. 2014. Web. 01 May 2014.Bhattacharji, Preeti. "Religion in China." Council on Foreign Relations. Council on Foreign Relations, 16 May 2008. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.Gardam, Tim. "Why Is Christianity Booming in China?" Bbc.com. BBC News, 11 Sept. 2011. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.Keck, Zachary. "Is Communist China Christianity's Future?" The Diplomat. Thediplomat.com, 26 Apr. 2014. Web. 26 Apr. 2014.