christianity growing in hong kong

Hong Kong Christians Ask for Prayer to Face 'the Totalitarianism That is Coming' By Evangelical Focus on June 6, 2020 No Comment Share on Facebook Follow on Facebook Add to Google+ Connect on . So let’s just say this slight and soft-spoken Protestant has spent years giving Chinese authorities the slip to deliver his spiritual message to Chinese Christians. View the profiles of professionals named "Gillian Foster" on LinkedIn. Proselytizing may be forbidden on the mainland, but step off Hong Kong’s iconic Star Ferry and into the audio and visual assault of ticket touts, digital billboards, souvenir hawkers and street acrobats and you’ll find Christians come to spread the gospel. The government reckons that about 200m of China's 1.4bn people are religious. Here are the thoughts, dreams and spirit of the pastors and laity that have taken on the challenge of making Christianity in China "Chinese." Christianity in Today's China is the story of the future hope for Christianity in Asia. In December 2018, those Hong Kong pastors married the couple in a Christian ceremony in the shadow of Mount Kenya in front of 200 guests -- "a small wedding for Kenya," jokes Ngunjiri. Alexander Chow argues that Christians in mainland China have been constructing a more intentional public theology to engage the Chinese state and society, since the end of the Cultural Revolution (1966-76). “They just obey the government and do whatever they are told, keeping their mouth shut and not daring to criticize policies. “Hong Kong’s role is to help them become a self-propagating, self-administrating establishment,” says another Hong Kong missionary, who, like Rev. In response to the UK’s new visa policy and immigration plan for Hong Kongers, the Chinese government has declared that it will no longer recognize the British National Overseas Passport (BNOP), warning that Hong Kongers who move to the UK will be treated as “second-class citizens.”, Many experts believe these tensions are likely to get worse in the coming years. This page was last modified on June 14, 2021, at 20:56. My Story: How My Life Changed . Found insideIan Johnson lived for extended periods with underground church members, rural Daoists, and Buddhist pilgrims. Nam joined CARG to help churches become aware of the growing threat of racism that immigrant families of Asian descent will face in the future. “Fifty years later, we’re still reaping the negative consequences of people being treated appallingly.”. But organizers are expecting even more resentment among locals about an immigration influx now, during unprecedented levels of unemployment. At the time, the UK church along with the rest of the country not only failed to offer a warm welcome to the Windrush generation—it treated them in unjust and outright racist ways. The younger generation, especially those who hail from the islands, are more likely to agree with the ongoing political protests against China’s actions in Hong Kong. But now, many church and ministry leaders of the Hong Kong Ready initiative believe this could signal the beginning of a brand-new chapter in their history as a nation and as a church. C. says, “Many church leaders believe that if you have not yet been to prison you are not committed enough in your faith.”. Christian Alliance International School (Butterfly Valley) In August 2009, the Government of Hong Kong awarded the church a land lease for the construction of a school building in Lai Chi Kok (some sources attributed the area as Butterfly Valley) capable of housing 1600 students. Less than four decades later, some believe China is now poised to become not just the world's number one economy but also its most numerous Christian nation.... China's Protestant community, which had just one million members in 1949, has already overtaken those of countries more commonly associated with an evangelical boom. “I wish that she were alive today to see it.”, Subscribe to CT and “We’ve been safe here for the last 20 years. Hong Kong, China - When . In contrast, conservatives were delighted by the same prospect. In Europe the book landed in the middle of the debate on Europe as an exceptional case. Some estimates suggest there are now as many as 130 million practicing Christians in China.[7]. Adam is the Country Head for Protiviti Hong Kong, offering consulting solutions across Risk & Compliance, Business Performance Improvement & Digital and Technology Consulting. The Bible lists nine fruits of the Spirit. These conversations are facilitating unprecedented cooperation between civic officials and church leaders around the country. Wu. Pirata Group was founded by Manuel Palacio and Christian Talpo's mutual and insatiable passion for good food and memorable restaurants. Members of a house church meet for Sunday service May 15, 2011 in Beijing, China. Despite a government stance that hovers somewhere between discouragement and persecution, more than 100 million of them have embraced a faith that regards this life as mere preparation for the next world. Captures how Indian Protestant Christians negotiate their religious and cultural identities within the Indian diaspora. This is the first comprehensive study of Protestant Christian religious identities in the Indian diaspora. “My worry is that some church leaders in Hong Kong are surrendering,” the academic says. And they're all Christians. We love Jesus and the bible. According to Christian advocacy group China Aid’s most recent statistics, 1,800 house church leaders were detained in 2016. “And I say that humbly—as in, like, it’s scary.”. Hong Kong will now adopt China's stricter censorship laws regarding its media and entertainment, the South China Morning Post reported. On April 19, 2014 The Telegraph published a story on the growth of Christianity in China which stated: Officially, the People's Republic of China is an atheist country but that is changing fast as many of its 1.3 billion citizens seek meaning and spiritual comfort that neither communism nor capitalism seem to have supplied. I met with godly Christian women from the strong Christian community there. Liter of Light partnered with SM as they unveiled a solar lights installation of Santo Niño de Cebu at SM Seaside City Cebu to celebrate 500 years of Christianity in the country. Those who attended are members of China's new privileged class -- highly educated, cosmopolitan, middle or even upper class of urban professionals. “Protestants have arguably created the most sustained structural challenges to the Chinese Communist Party’s ordering of society,” Vala says. He reckons that on current trends there will be 250m Christians by around 2030, making China’s Christian population the largest in the world. Since then, he says he’s also been warned by Hong Kong’s authorities to call off trips to the mainland, where he has been unable to return for over a year. "I've noticed being in Hong Kong, obviously surrounded by Chinese people, unlike what I was in the U.S., there's a lot of fear, even with those who call themselves Christians. Militant atheists caused a massive and explosive growth of Christianity, Top 50 Countries With Highest Proportion of Atheists / Agnostics (Zuckerman, 2005), China's Communist Party Bans Believers, Doubles Down On Atheism, China’s Communist Party Reaffirms Marxism, Maoism, Atheism, Senior Chinese Religious Advisor Calls For Promotion Of Atheism In Society, Martyr killed by bulldozer becomes symbol of growing persecution of Christians in China. While Hong Kong’s pastors are not allowed to proselytize, sermonize or establish churches in mainland China without official permission, many defy these prohibitions to cultivate a network of underground “house churches” in homes and workplaces. In the coming years? “[Nobody is] allowed to use Hong Kong for infiltration subversion activities against the mainland to damage its social and political stability,” Zhang Xiaoming, the head of China’s Liaison Office in Hong Kong, said during a state media interview last year. Many of the leaders involved, including Kandiah and Nam, are themselves the children of immigrants and know the practical struggles and prejudice foreigners face—much of which has resurged in recent years. “In the U.S., the citizens could say that the law protects us, the first amendment protects our religious freedom. Helping students know Jesus, grow in their faith and go to the world to tell others. I don’t care if you’re yellow or blue. Over the past twenty-five years, . Such business can be risky, resulting in anything from police harassment to deportation or detention in “re-education” centers. The law is just to help the government crackdown on the churches,” says Rev. The admonition appears to extend to Christian evangelizing. A review of his book declares and please note the bold font added for emphasis which indicates the Chinese Christians are generally not Darwinists: To see the magnitude of the explosive growth of Christianity in China, look at this graph about the growth of Christianity in China in a DW news story about Chinese Christianity (DW is a mainstream news outlet in Germany). "It's ironic – they didn't. Political tensions are high in Hong Kong, particularly for pro-democracy activists—including Christians—who have become the target of a crackdown from Chinese authorities in the region. In 2010 there were more than 58 million Protestants in China compared to 40 million in Brazil and 36 million in South Africa, according to the Pew Research Centre's Forum on Religion and Public Life. Mr. Yang says this speed of growth is similar to that seen in fourth-century Rome just before the conversion of Constantine, which paved the way for Christianity to become the religion of his empire.[4]. Hong Kong's population is expected to reach 8.469 million by 2041, with 52100 births and 82,400 deaths predicted by The Census and Statistics Department.It expects over 30% of the population to be above 65 by 2041. Christianity Today strengthens the church by richly communicating the breadth of the true, good, and beautiful gospel. . Founded by pastor Nicky Gumbel, the London-based church-planting network is the birthplace of Worship Central, Alpha, and The Marriage Course. The Hong Kong Jockey Club has joined forces with the Hong Kong Christian Service and St. James' Settlement, along with foodpanda to transport hot meals from local restaurants to eligible recipients.It is estimated that over 70,000 people will benefit from the program. Aiming to curb unregistered religious activities, the regulations give underground churches an ultimatum: join the official, antiseptic Three-Self Patriotic churches where faith is subordinate to party dogma, or face criminal repercussions left to local enforcers’ interpretation — traditionally anything from fines, to detention or even enforced disappearances. Working together across denominational and organizational lines, the network is linking church leaders and civic officials, empowering the Chinese Christian community, mapping and mobilizing a growing list of welcome-ready churches, and building a bank of multilingual orientation resources for newcomers. Trouble began brewing even before the rollout of the new regulations. "Among the religious population, the traditional "three teachings" of China, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism, have the most adherents (20 per cent), and are followed by Christianity (12 per cent) and Islam (four per cent). A combination of regionally focussed case studies and thematic essays, this volume seeks to explain the emergence of World Christianity as a new academic sub-discipline over the last two decades. David Aikman served as Time Magazine's bureau chief in Beijing China. “Here we have no future unless we want to be Beijing’s slaves,” he put it bluntly. Religious affairs authorities there instructed him to stop teaching mainland students, and to stop posting online advertisements offering to ordain mainland pastors. Found insideThe first systematic global study of how Christians respond to persecution, presenting new research by leading scholars of global Christianity. An official from the propaganda department of the State Council said they were unable to immediately comment on whether the document was genuine. For evangelicals eager to sustain this fount of converts, Hong Kong serves as “the stepping stone into mainland China,” says Rev. “I made comments about race, the Black family, and minorities that were wrong and hurt many people.”. “This is where my passion is in terms of the Chinese church—to say to them, ‘Look, as Christians, we need to help them. Spense Documentary Collection 6.1 Lord Maccartney's Commission from Henry Dundas, 1792- This document was the a letter from Henry Dundas, a representative from the East India Company, written the Lord Macartney, a British Diplomat in . I suspect that even the most enthusiastic accounts err on the downside, and that Christianity will have become a Sino-centric religion two generations from now. “Beijing sees Hong Kong as place of insurgency, a place that needs to be brought under control,” says Brynne Lawrence, an associate at China Aid. But in recent years, authorities have made positive overtures towards house church leaders -- especially those in urban areas.[8]. Rev. Since April 20, Ta Kung Pao, a Hong Kong media outlet widely regarded as a mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), […] during a state media interview last year. The result, Under Gods, is a powerful celebration of the rich diversity of these religions and of the reality and intensity of their different lifestyles. As for China's Christians, their numbers continue to grow. The 10 countries in the Americas with the largest number of Christians collectively are home to a third (33%) of all the world's Christians. A Bible teaching ministry dedicated to helping Christians GROW in their faith. China’s Religious War: Cardinal Zen Talks Beijing and the Vatican, Guerrillas for God: How Hong Kong’s Pastors Are Delivering the Message to China’s Christians. The members of the secretive underground church in Afghanistan have been living with fear and uncertainty since Taliban fighters . Holy Spirit Study - Hong Kong. Hong Kong was claimed by Great Britain in three steps: Hong Kong island was handed over to Britain by China "in perpetuity" in 1842 after the Opium War, the peninsula of Kowloon was ceded in 1860, and the New Territories were leased to the United Kingdom for ninety-nine years in 1898. Evangel Children's Home opened in 1956 to provide a Christian home for the growing number of orphans. Hong Kong was a British colony from 1841 to 1997 when the UK handed control to China. Part of the fundamentalist package, millenarianism – the belief in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to reign for a thousand years, regarded as probably an imminent event – includes a necessary, though uncertain role for the Jews. City Up 16 million from just a decade ago, if it continues . Many of those coming from Hong Kong already expect to encounter it here, he says, but they’re more worried about what it will mean for their children. Mr Fu claimed the document also indicated "panic" among Chinese intellectuals about the "rapid" growth of [China's] underground Christian population". Found insideThis pathbreaking volume will force a reassessment of many common assumptions about the relationship between Christianity and modern China. But as President Xi Jinping kicks off a renewed crackdown to bring Christianity under state control by instituting new religious regulations, pastors in Hong Kong — since 1997 a semi-autonomous Chinese territory — are finding themselves in the crosshairs. There are now more Christians in China than Chinese who belong to the Communist Party of China (see also: East Asia and global desecularization). Wu Chi-wai, general secretary of the Hong Kong Church Renewal Movement. Jun-Yuan Chen Research Professor Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology was quoted in the Wall Street Journal as saying, "In China we can criticize Darwin but not the government. “I believe God is doing something special,” wrote Nam, who was recently ordained in the Church of England as one its first British-born Chinese priests. Yet despite government controls, the number of Christians in China has rocketed since the 1980s with many worshipping in illegal "house churches" which are subject to sporadic crackdowns. such as the South China Athletic Association, sprang up to address the growing demand for organised practice. "[2] Evangelical Christianity is especially growing sharply in China. “They don’t want to totally restrict religion, they want to bring it fully under their control,” says the Hong Kong missionary. The Hong Kong program will be the largest and fastest planned migration to the UK from outside Europe since the Windrush migration between 1948 and 1971, when the British invited families from former colonies in the Caribbean. Please attempt to sign up again. The blue camp is generally favorable to China and its political policies, while the yellow camp is critical of both. Their theology particularly with the “house church” Protestant Christians, is Biblical and fundamentalist, and the churches with which they are linked in the United States are their equivalents. Beijing's Collision With Christians As the faith spreads, the Communist Party fears a threat to its political control. All Rights Reserved. But as Rev. [File: Christian Hartmann/Reuters] . Christian Wiegele, global president of Dole Sunshine's fresh produce group, said in an online interview with BusinessWorld on July 14 that the company plans to increase its farm production area in the country. Kandiah, recently appointed the chair of a government board on adoption, connected officials to Christian leaders who were eager to help with resettlement. In Xi we trust - Is China cracking down on Christianity? In China it’s the other way around. Assistant Manager. Churches, temples and mosques were destroyed, and many people were killed and tortured to drive people from . From China’s perspective, Hong Kong needs to be reintegrated into the mainland, political economist and Hong Kong transition expert Michael DeGolyer writes in The Other Hong Kong Report, a Hong Kong-based academic journal. Found inside – Page iSinicizing Christianity investigates the ways in which Chinese people contextualized Christianity for local use. ; Bible teacher Berni Dymet produces radio programs that are broadcast on over 1,000 stations in countries... Quickly growing now s population within three decades ” ( p. 285 ) he thought had! 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