I'm not dumb enough to try and write anything of substance on faith in China yet. The reality is I haven't been here long enough to get much of an understanding of the intricacies of the subject. I do, however, already have a sense that as a western Christian (I'll use that term for the sake of argument, but many of you know that I'm holding my nose as I type it) whatever I thought I knew about the subject was, at best, a very simplistic view of a complex subject, and at worst, completely wrong.
Here's a link to a very brief piece to get those of you interested thinking on the subject.
No room for faith for all party members
...follows reports that suggest that a growing number of party members are turning to religion. Analysts said that while religious beliefs of all faiths were on the rise, the officially atheist communist government was wary about religious groups becoming popular and getting beyond its control.
Within the party, some members were getting caught up in the religious revival and had been violating party rules by becoming active religious believers, Zhu said.
I'mnot completely naive. Here's another article for your consideration:
Beijing police on Sunday detained at least a dozen worshippers from a Christian house church who were trying to hold services in a public space after they were evicted from their usual place of worship.
Let's be clear: There is not religious freedom here. However in reading between the lines in this last piece many will see that there is more going on here than we may have previously believed.
That's it for now... just planting a seed for possible further conversation.
(Images from Christmas Eve Mass - Xiamen, China on Flickr)
Great introductory thoughts, Mike! I look forward to continue reading what you observe as you spend longer there. I've heard God is Red is a good read...
Posted by: Mike Morrell | January 07, 2012 at 05:55 PM