21/08/2019 China’s God-Shaped Vacuum

China’s God-Shaped Vacuum

MAY 31, 2017 | Joann Pittman

CURRENT EVENTS

A favorite photo from my early years in China was taken at a Taoist temple in
Henan province in 1984. I snapped the photo of an old Taoist priest, perhaps
recently released from prison, burning incense. I didn’t know it at the time, but I
was witnessing the beginning of the religious revival that Ian Johnson writes
about in his wonderful new book,The Souls of China: The Return of Religion
After Mao (https://www.amazon.com/Souls-China-Return-Religion-
After/dp/1101870052/?tag=thegospcoal-20).

Johnson—a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and regular contributor to The New

York Review of Books and The New York Times—spent six years traveling
around China learning about Buddhist, Taoist, and Protestant communities of
faith. He tells their stories, and out of these stories emerge several themes that
help us better understand religion in China today.

Historical Context
When the Communist Party—under Chairman Mao Zedong (1893–1976)—took
power in 1949, it initially allowed for the continuation of religious belief and
practice. The advent of the Cultural Revolution in 1966 brought that allowance
to an end: the party sought to drive religion out of Chinese society. All temples,
mosques, and churches were closed, and an era of severe religious persecution
began.

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A few years after Mao’s death, the new leader, Deng Xiaoping (1904–1997),
launched the “Reform and Opening Policy
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_economic_reform)” that turned China
away from the excesses of Mao’s rule to a more pragmatic focus on economic
and social development. This policy, detailed in what we know as Document 19
(https://www.religlaw.org/content/religlaw/documents/doc19relig1982.htm), set
the stage for the religious revival Johnson describes.

Document 19 is commonly viewed as a negative and limiting document since it

contains many restrictions. By reminding us of the historical context, Johnson
helps us see that it opened the door for the return of religion to Chinese
society. “Document 19,” he writes, “was an outstandingly candid analysis of
China’s religious crisis and the legal basis for China’s religious revival” (27). It
spelled out the party’s long-term policy of “respect for and protection of the
freedom of religious belief” (28).

Complexity
The role of religion in China can be confusing, especially for Westerners who
often see the world in black and white. The complexity Johnson describes
includes a Taoist priest who travels the world, and the pastor of a public and
thriving “underground” church. We see an officially atheist government that
embraces and promotes traditional values, most of which are rooted in
traditional religious beliefs. The government jettisoned one set of moral
standards (Confucianism) for another (Marxism-Leninism-Mao Zedong hought),
then jettisoned that one without replacing it with anything other than economic
development, creating a moral and spiritual vacuum. Now, instead of trying to
smash religious belief, the party is trying to co-opt it by focusing on traditional
values.

By introducing us to Early Rain Church

and its pastor Wang Yi, Johnson
provides a fascinating glimpse into the
inner workings of a large, unregistered
urban church that, like thousands of
churches around China, is “not
permitted but not banned.” How can an
“underground church” be public? How
can an “illegal” church be
“free”? Anyone seeking to understand
religion in China must grapple with this
complexity.

Diversity
Chinese religious life is extremely
diverse. Johnson’s stories of priests,
pilgrims, and pastors give us a glimpse
of that diversity. We meet Taoist priests

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who perform funeral rituals, Buddhists

who make annual pilgrimages to
temples, and Reformed and
Charismatic Protestants who
grapple with the re-emergence of
denominational lines.

But China’s religious landscape is even

more diverse than the book portrays,
since Johnson doesn’t tell the stories of
Catholic and Muslim communities of
faith.

Tolerance
The government’s attitude
toward religious belief is one of
tolerance. It may be tempting to read
Johnson’s stories and see a measure of
religious freedom, and when compared
to the policies of the 1960s and 1970s
that is certainly a fair read. However, The Souls of China: The Return
this is not religious freedom as many in of Religion After Mao
IAN JOHNSON
the West would think of it. It is, rather, a
pragmatic (and reluctant) tolerance Pantheon (2017). 480 pp. $30.
based on the government’s current
belief that religion can be a useful tool PURCHASE (HTTPS://WWW.AMAZON.COM/SOU
in advancing its own interests of
harmony, social stability, and Chinese
cultural values.

For most people outside of China, the dominant narrative of the house-church
movement is one of persecution. Johnson reminds us that it’s vastly more
complicated and that even these so-called underground churches are tolerated.
“These unregistered churches,” he writes, “make up about half of China’s 50
[million] to 60 million Protestants, forming one of those gray areas that defines
much of religious life in China” (56).

Their visibility notwithstanding, Pastor Wang and the other Christians whom
Johnson writes about live with the knowledge that continued government
tolerance isn’t guaranteed. As Johnson says, “They operate in a parallel realm
outside the Party’s control.” How long that tolerance will continue is the great
unknown.

Uncertainty
In the afterword, Johnson turns to the question of whether this trend of
tolerance will continue. While he doubts the state will yield control of the
country’s moral life, he also doubts the government will make another attempt

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at eradicating religion from Chinese society. The challenge will be to keep

“a balance of managing religion without alienating its followers” (398).

This balancing act is particularly acute when it comes to the Protestant house-
church movement. On this point, Johnson remains guardedly optimistic:

A key question is whether the government will allow it to continue to grow

or if—in its hubris and newfound wealth—it will look to achieve complete
control. I suspect it will not. . . . We can expect more feints and thrusts from
the government about how to handle religion in the new era. But in the
long run, I doubt the government will try to achieve total control, in part
because recent history—the Cultural Revolution, for example—shows
officials how oppression can actually encourage real faith. (398)

For anyone interested in looking beyond the headlines to understand the

complexity of religious life in China today, The Souls of China is a must-read.

Editors’ note: Would you join us in resourcing thousands of church leaders in

China (https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/international/project/simplified-
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Previously:

Send Gospel Resources to China

(https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/partner-with-us-to-serve-
chinese-pastors) (Bill Walsh)
Chinese Christians Preparing for ‘New Normal’
(https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/chinese-christians-preparing-
for-new-normal) (Andrew Kaiser)
What Christianity in China Is Really Like
(https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/what-christianity-in-china-is-
really-like) (Colin Clark)
The Church in China at the Threshold
(https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/church-in-china-at-the-
threshold) (Brent Fulton)
The Bells in China Are Not Silent
(https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/the-bells-in-china-are-not-
silent) (Joann Pittman)
Young, Restless, and Reformed in China
(https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/young-restless-and-
reformed-in-china) (Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra)
Remembering Them Every May 4
(https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/remembering-them-every-
may-4)(Promise Hsu)

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Unfinished Journey: How Christianity Came to China

(https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/reviews/how-christianity-came-to-
china/) (Brent Fulton)

Joann Pittman is a senior associate at ChinaSource, a resource

ministry dedicated to providing the global Christian community with
objective information about the church in China. In addition, she does
consulting and training to help people prepare for and navigate the
challenges of cross-cultural living. She lived in China for more than 20
years, working as a teacher, Chinese language program director,
English language program director, and cross-cultural trainer. She has
done extensive study and research in Chinese language, history, and
contemporary society, and is a fluent speaker of Mandarin Chinese.
She is the author of She is the author of The Bells Are Not Silent:
Stories of Church Bells in China and Survival Chinese Lessons. You can
read Joann’s blog Outside-In at joannpittman.com. You can also follow
her on Twitter.

TAGS
BOOKS AND READING • WORLD RELIGIONS

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