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发帖数: 657 | 1 First of five parts
Official Chinese surveys now show that nearly one in three Chinese describe
themselves as religious, an astonishing figure for an officially atheist
country, where religion was banned until three decades ago.
The last 30 years of economic reform have seen an explosion of religious
belief. China's government officially recognizes five religions:
Protestantism, Catholicism, Buddhism, Islam and Daoism. The biggest boom of
all has been in Christianity, which the government has struggled to control.
Credit: Ariana Lindquist for NPR
One way it has tried to do that is by establishing government-sanctioned
churches. In one such church in the east of the country, China's Protestant
heartland, parishioners bow their heads as the pastor says grace. Hundreds
are huddled around circular tables to eat lunch.
The official church is part of what's called the Three-Self Patriotic
Movement, the state-sanctioned Protestant organization. Three-Self refers to
the strategy launched in the 1950s of removing foreign influences from
Chinese churches — self-governance, self-support, self-propagation.
The church is marking husband-and-wife day, which is an annual celebration
of faith and community. A thousand people each week from dozens of nearby
villages pack into this church, situated about 300 miles from Shanghai.
Among them is Yao Hong, a 38-year-old woman in a maroon jacket who became a
Christian almost two decades ago, seeking comfort after her husband at the
time had an affair. She believes it's patriotic to be Christian.
"God is rising here in China," she says, gesturing around the cavernous
church. "If you look at the U.S. or England, their gospel is very advanced.
Their churches are rich, because God blesses them. So I pray for China."
Worshippers attend a service at a Christian church in China's Protestant
heartland
Enlarge Ariana Lindquist for NPR
Worshippers attend a service at a church in China's Protestant heartland in
the country's east. By some estimates, China now has 100 million Christians,
more believers in Christ than Communist Party members.
Worshippers attend a service at a Christian church in China's Protestant
heartland
Ariana Lindquist for NPR
Worshippers attend a service at a church in China's Protestant heartland in
the country's east. By some estimates, China now has 100 million Christians,
more believers in Christ than Communist Party members.
In the past, she has left the village to work in Shanghai. She says her
belief in Christ was a lifeline in the alien metropolis and her church acted
as her family.
"Whether they know you or not, they treat you as a brother or sister," she
says. "If you have troubles, they help out with money or material assistance
or spiritual aid."
As China urbanizes and millions of rural migrants experience the social and
economic dislocation of traveling to new cities, Christianity can provide
them with an instant community.
Many believers sitting on the hard wooden benches of the village church are
older. They tell stories of the rewards of faith and how prayer cured
illnesses and ended beatings from husbands.
Pastor Ni is in charge of this church. (NPR agreed to withhold his full name
to protect his identity.) He says there is total religious freedom in China
, and he characterizes relations between state and the church as extremely
good.
Pastor Ni
Enlarge Ariana Lindquist for NPR
Pastor Ni leads a service at a state-sanctioned church. He says he believes
there is total religious freedom in China. Relations between church and
state, he says, "are extremely good."
Pastor Ni
Ariana Lindquist for NPR
Pastor Ni leads a service at a state-sanctioned church. He says he believes
there is total religious freedom in China. Relations between church and
state, he says, "are extremely good."
"The government never interferes with our internal affairs," he says. "There
are no orders, no coercion. That doesn't exist and we get on well."
In this part of the country, every small village has at least one church,
and each shows signs of being carefully tended. One has a door curtain made
from a patchwork of rice sacks; another, a hand-sewn altar curtain, complete
with a white appliqued cross.
Local ministers say that about 10 percent of the population in this part of
China is Protestant, but all believe that the real figure may be much higher.
Gray Areas Governing Religion
No one knows exactly how many Christians there are among China's population
of 1.3 billion. There are an estimated 21 million members of the government-
sanctioned Three-Self Patriotic movement, but nobody knows how many
Protestants worship in unregistered house churches.
Some recent surveys have calculated there could be as many as 100 million
Chinese Protestants. That would mean that China has more Christians than
Communist Party members, which now number 75 million.
About 30 miles from Pastor Ni's church in a dusty country town, a group of
women from another state-sanctioned congregation pray ahead of a | D*****r
发帖数: 6791 | 2 宗教这东西从底层往上来，有农村包围城市的架势。
不可不防啊。
describe
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control.
【在 R********n 的大作中提到】
: First of five parts
: Official Chinese surveys now show that nearly one in three Chinese describe
: themselves as religious, an astonishing figure for an officially atheist
: country, where religion was banned until three decades ago.
: The last 30 years of economic reform have seen an explosion of religious
: belief. China's government officially recognizes five religions:
: Protestantism, Catholicism, Buddhism, Islam and Daoism. The biggest boom of
: all has been in Christianity, which the government has struggled to control.
: Credit: Ariana Lindquist for NPR
: One way it has tried to do that is by establishing government-sanctioned
|
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