Chinese conversion to evangelical Christianity: the importance of social and cultural contexts

Sociology of Religion, Fall, 1998 by Fenggang Yang

Patterned on these American Christian organizations, Chinese Christian leaders have established their own Christian organizations. Two of the most active ones are the "Chinese Christian Mission," founded in 1961 in Detroit, and the "Ambassadors for Christ," incorporated in 1963 in Washington, D.C. Both began as Chinese student ministry organizations. Over the decades they have become multi-functional Christian organizations: publishing magazines, books, and multi-media evangelistic materials in Chinese and English; ministering to Chinese Bible study groups on university campuses and other places; organizing workshops, training seminars, and evangelistic camp meetings, and sending Chinese missionaries overseas. These Chinese evangelical organizations have contributed greatly to the evangelization of Chinese students and new immigrants. Today, Chinese churches and Christian organizations have surpassed other American missionary and Christian organizations in evangelizing Chinese immigrants.

Although institutional factors are apparent for Chinese conversion to evangelical Christianity, the importance of these factors is only secondary. Historically, there were tremendous efforts put forth by thousands of Western missionaries in China and the US, but "the missionaries' long-continued effort, if measured in numbers of converts, had failed" (Fairbank 1974:1). Those missionaries who chose to continue to work among the Chinese in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia after they left mainland China around 1950 found unprecedented openness toward Christian proselytization among people who had fled the wars and Chinese Communists. Had there been no such enthusiasm among these Chinese migrants, there would not have been so many Christian organizations working to proselytize among the Chinese. Similarly, in the United States, without the enthusiastic responsiveness of Chinese students, refugees, and new immigrants, there would not have been so many Christian organizations and churches working to evangelize them. In other words, the intensification of Christian institutional efforts is not only a cause for increasing Chinese conversion, but also a reaction to the increasing responsiveness to the Christian message among the Chinese. In a study of recent, rapid Christian conversion among the Akha people in Thailand and Burma, anthropologist Cornelia Ann Kammerer argues that the intensification of missionary proselytization among the Akha people "is as much a reaction to as a cause of the increasing responsiveness to the Christian message" (1990:279). I find that this is also true for the recent wave of Chinese conversion. More important than the institutional factors are contextual changes that are internal to China.(3)

SOCIAL AND CULTURAL CHANGES IN THE CONVERSION EXPERIENCES

In modern history China has been in constant social and political turmoil. In the meantime, Chinese cultural traditions have received repeated attacks by Chinese intellectuals and political elites. This social and cultural context is crucial for understanding the recent wave of Chinese conversions to Christianity.