Starting in 1978, the spiritual and religious life of China has shown a strong and diverse awakening due in large part to the weakening ideological and organizational control of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Christian-inspired groups which combine organizational and doctrinal elements of Christian, as well as Chinese folk religious tradition, have a special appeal for the “losers” of China’s modernization process in the countryside. Since the Ming dynasty, spiritual-religious groups have been perceived as an indicator of socio-economic instability and potential political unrest, and, therefore, pose an ideological and organizational threat to the Chinese State. With a still unchanged repressive policy towards spiritual-religious groups, the CCP has not been very successful in stopping the spread of spiritual-religious groups. Finding a more comprehensive approach to religion and to the interlinked socio-economic problems is one of the great challenges for the future of the Communist regime.
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