Abstract
Kim-kwong Chan’s Understanding World Christianity: China, which explores multifaceted aspects of Christian practices in China, is part of a Fortress series offering an accessible view of Christianity in the non-Western world. Chan’s work strives to provide a more comprehensive picture of what Chinese Christianity looks like on the ground. As an Anglican pastor and academic, Chan has worked extensively with churches in China and the Chinese government for over four decades. Chan’s training includes psychotherapy, law, and nutrition, giving him a unique perspective on China. Writing as a professing Christian, Chan recounts his encounters with Chinese Christians throughout the decades; his perspective fleshes out a multifaceted Chinese Christianity.
Chan interprets contemporary Chinese Christianities from the twentieth to the twenty-first century for nonexperts. While Chan covers Christianity in ancient China briefly, this book mainly aims to provide context to Christianity in contemporary China. China was written to interpret a critical time as Christianity develops in China for a general-yet-critical global audience, who may wish to consider the interconnectedness of a global Christian faith. His chapter titled “Chronological” outlines the history of different forms of Christianity entering China before detailing Protestantism, Catholicism, and Orthodoxy under the current regime. The chapter “Sociopolitical” looks at the development of religious policy by the Chinese Communist Party and Christian churches’ responses. This chapter’s insightful exploration of what “human rights” means in a mainland Chinese context sees Chan aptly playing the role of a cultural translator, as the same terms can often be used in China and the West but have quite different definitions. The chapter “Denominational” focuses specifically on Protestant missionary efforts, a topic that is unique to China, since the Chinese government’s initiative to regulate religious organizations has led to the birth of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement and autonomous Christian communities and has somewhat replaced Protestant denominations common in the Western world.
The chapter “Geographical” addresses where different ethnic groups reside and how geography plays a role in the dynamics of Christianities in China. Outsiders often think of Chinese as one ethnic group; Chan portrays a more accurate picture of ethnic diversity and the urban-rural household divide. Chan then highlights biographies of several Chinese Protestant and Catholic figures rarely covered in non-Sinophone church history texts. This chapter, “Biographical,” is a particularly important contribution to the field, as Western Christian leaders are often esteemed in the non-Western world, including China, but rarely are non-Western Christian leaders well-known in the Western context. An important step in recognizing Christianity as a world religion is to feature non-Caucasian Christians and their stories. Chan’s final chapter, “Theological,” covers the theological implications of Chinese Protestant and Catholic communities. He compares Chinese and Western concerns on issues such as church growth, individualism, consumerism, social issues, interfaith interactions, and globalization.
While China is well researched, Chan’s limited footnotes make it more suitable for a general audience than for an academic audience. Chan writes comprehensively and covers many areas; nonetheless, he is offering the materials from his own perspective. As such, China should be read as an introductory text to Christianity in China with a specific viewpoint, which should be supplemented by different perspectives on recent theological debates in China and the Chinese diaspora.
China contributes to the field of World Christianity and Christian mission, as it tells the story of Christianity in China through the lens of someone who is both an insider and an outsider in Chinese culture: Chan is a Hong Konger who studied in North America, and a Chinese who has worked extensively alongside the Chinese government. China makes an excellent overview of Christianities in mainland China, and this sort of cultural translation is much needed in a world that still mostly considers Western culture as the norm and others as exotic. Readers should bear in mind, however, that Chan talks about Christianities in the People’s Republic of China and does not include Chinese Christianities in other regions, where there are vast differences. As a Chinese Christian academic, I am excited to see more works written for those interested in what Christianity is like in China. This interest is likely to continue growing, especially as China continues to be newsworthy in the global arena.