1949–1982

Christianity in China under the Communists: persecution, “registered” and underground churches, Cardinal Gong Pinmei

Shelley: in 1949 the Communists, founding the People’s Republic of China, expelled the Christian missionaries; the churches were then brought under control through the Three-Self Patriotic Movement (1955) and the Catholic Patriotic Association (1957), Christians divided into a “registered” and an “unregistered” church, and during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) even those who cooperated were persecuted. After Mao, Deng Xiaoping in 1979 allowed the printing of Bibles, and a law of 1982 widened freedom of worship; by 2000, by modest estimates, China had 89 million believers (7.1 % of the population)

Key points

• 1949: after the civil war between Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong (the Nationalists settled on Taiwan) the PRC expelled the Christian missionaries
• Christianity was suspected of being an instrument of Western imperialism
• Shelley: in China the Three-Self Movement (1955) and Patriotic Association (1957) controlled the churches; the Cultural Revolution brought fresh persecution. Cardinal Gong Pinmei, bishop of Shanghai (1950), was arrested in 1955 for refusing to renounce the pope; freed in 1985 after long isolation.
• After Mao: in January 1979, during Deng Xiaoping’s US visit, Carter asked whether missionaries, the Bible and religious freedom could be allowed.
• After Mao: next morning Deng replied he would not admit missionaries, but the Bible and a law on religious freedom were possible.
• After Mao: printing the Bible was allowed; a 1982 law widened freedom of worship (in practice very uneven by region).
• After Mao: cooperation between registered and underground churches becomes common.
• “Back to Jerusalem”: China’s house churches went from village to village; their preachers – cripples, beggars, the blind – were pelted with rotten vegetables
• Decades underground under the Communists increased their numbers; they understood their calling as carrying the Gospel around the globe back to Jerusalem

People

• Ignatius Gong Pinmei
• Deng Xiaoping
• Mao Zedong
• Jimmy Carter

Place

China (Shanghai, Beijing)