Reflections on the Maturity of Religion and Theology in Literature

Abstract

The simple purpose of this article is to ask the question of whether the contemporary development of Sino-Christian theology in China, often in the context of academic literary studies in universities, is an exercise in theological maturity, or whether it remains tied to the apron strings of European thought and western Christianity. It opens up, of course, larger questions of cultural development and intercultural exchanges in our increasingly global culture. More particularly it will argue for the central importance of literary studies in this development of theology in China, at a time when there is renewed attention to the ancient traditions and texts of Chinese literary culture and religion.