I have found that China has had a peculiar relationship with Christianity during it's history. On one hand there is the anti-foreigner sentiments often associated with missionaries in the 19th century, but on the other hand it has formed the basis of some Chinese leaders like the Taiping rebels and Chiang Kai-shek.
Your last paragraph outlines my concerns that the CCP may use these churches and their international connections as a conduit for global influence operations.
This growing nationalistic superiority complex that the CCP are stirring up could cause tensions in international communities as they grow suspicious of each other due to the lack of social integration.
Hi Dale, thanks for commenting. Some really interesting points on China's history of Christianity - an area made even more complex recently with work by Rana Mitter and others arguing that Maoism shared many characteristics with Christianity, and that 1960s Cultural Revolution Communism was very much a political religion, adopting and secularising Christian ideas around salvation.
I completely agree with your concern about CCP opportunities abroad, an area that really needs a lot more focus. Maybe something akin to the checks being applied to universities needs to be put in place?
Concerning geopolitics, I saw on Friday how the PM of the Soloman Islands justified the security pact signed with China to opposition MPs, by saying that Christianity was "thriving" in China because ‘believers followed government rules’. Over 90% of S.Islands are Christian, and opponents of the pact fear Chinese troops or Chinese suppression of protests. Perhaps the first case of China's Christian credentials being used to persuade other Christians in a geopolitically advantageous way for the CCP?
I have found that China has had a peculiar relationship with Christianity during it's history. On one hand there is the anti-foreigner sentiments often associated with missionaries in the 19th century, but on the other hand it has formed the basis of some Chinese leaders like the Taiping rebels and Chiang Kai-shek.
Your last paragraph outlines my concerns that the CCP may use these churches and their international connections as a conduit for global influence operations.
This growing nationalistic superiority complex that the CCP are stirring up could cause tensions in international communities as they grow suspicious of each other due to the lack of social integration.
Hi Dale, thanks for commenting. Some really interesting points on China's history of Christianity - an area made even more complex recently with work by Rana Mitter and others arguing that Maoism shared many characteristics with Christianity, and that 1960s Cultural Revolution Communism was very much a political religion, adopting and secularising Christian ideas around salvation.
I completely agree with your concern about CCP opportunities abroad, an area that really needs a lot more focus. Maybe something akin to the checks being applied to universities needs to be put in place?
Concerning geopolitics, I saw on Friday how the PM of the Soloman Islands justified the security pact signed with China to opposition MPs, by saying that Christianity was "thriving" in China because ‘believers followed government rules’. Over 90% of S.Islands are Christian, and opponents of the pact fear Chinese troops or Chinese suppression of protests. Perhaps the first case of China's Christian credentials being used to persuade other Christians in a geopolitically advantageous way for the CCP?