Christianity in China : examining history to explore its current growth : an honors thesis (HONRS 499)

Abstract

In the last few decades, Christianity has become the fastest growing religion in China. This is interesting because of its previous status as a 'foreign religion.' Western missionaries were largely unsuccessful in establishing the religion as legitimate, and for hundreds of years Christianity saw a limited number of dedicated adherents. After years of imperialism and foreign abuse, the Chinese responded with revolution and seclusion. It was at this point, during the Mao era, that Christianity began to take valid shape among the Chinese. This paper explores this history of Christianity in China and discusses potential reasons for the large-scale changes in Chinese attitudes toward this foreign religion. I argue that through the seclusion of the Mao era, the rapid shift from a closed to open door economy, and the change in attitudes toward the Western world have all contributed to the large-scale receptiveness and acceptance of the religion. Christianity in China should be further studied to understand the previously mentioned dynamics as well as the role the religion will play in China in the future. I also argue that if Christianity continues to be religion of choice for mass numbers of Chinese, China will have an interesting role to play in global politics and economics as well.