Three decades ago, China's Cultural Revolution saw some of the most dramatic restrictions on the practice of religion ever seen in the modern world.But today's communist rulers have radically altered their views about religion and have granted substantial freedom to Christians prepared to worship within state-sanctioned churches. Within these boundaries, Christianity is growing in China as never before - and doing so supported by millions of dollars of government funding.
State funding
On the outskirts of Nanjing, a building site illustrates the scale of the communist state's commitment to supporting the development of Christianity. Local officials say that the building under construction will become China's largest state-sanctioned church - with space for 5,000 worshipers.The land - and 20% of the building costs - are being provided not by local Christians, but by the municipal government. It represents state financial support worth millions of dollars - just one example of the strategy to encourage the development of religion in China.
The Communist Party's senior official with responsibility for this policy is the director general of the State Administration for Religious Affairs, Wang Zuo An.
"There are now at least 20 million Protestant Christians in China worshipping in the state-sanctioned church. Such growth is unprecedented in the history of Christianity in China. Christianity is enjoying its best period of growth in China," says Wang Zuo An. "Our goal in supporting these religions in developing religious education is that we hope they can train qualified clergy members so that their religions can enjoy better development."
"On the question of whether there is God, the Chinese Communist Party believes there is no God in the world," said Mr Wang. "The Communist Party believes that it should respect and protect religious belief. The members of the party must respect religious followers and not infringe their interests. We are making laws and regulations to better guarantee religious belief in China," he says.
Rev John Baptist Zhang
One Catholic priest who has pioneered the Social Work projects in China is Rev John Baptist Zhang - whose Jinde Charities receive support from Catholics around the world. He thinks the government welcomes the Church's contribution. "Homes for the aged are urgent. We need more and more. The government realised that. Some officials say, you have done for Chinese society what we cannot do. Without any political involvement, the Church is doing a good job, and we from government appreciate it," said Father Zhang.
The National Catholic Seminary in Beijing prepares many for the priesthood
On the outskirts of Nanjing, a building site illustrates the scale of the communist state's commitment to supporting the development of Christianity. Local officials say that the building under construction will become China's largest state-sanctioned church - with space for 5,000 worshipers.The land - and 20% of the building costs - are being provided not by local Christians, but by the municipal government. It represents state financial support worth millions of dollars - just one example of the strategy to encourage the development of religion in China.
The Communist Party's senior official with responsibility for this policy is the director general of the State Administration for Religious Affairs, Wang Zuo An.
"There are now at least 20 million Protestant Christians in China worshipping in the state-sanctioned church. Such growth is unprecedented in the history of Christianity in China. Christianity is enjoying its best period of growth in China," says Wang Zuo An. "Our goal in supporting these religions in developing religious education is that we hope they can train qualified clergy members so that their religions can enjoy better development.""On the question of whether there is God, the Chinese Communist Party believes there is no God in the world," said Mr Wang. "The Communist Party believes that it should respect and protect religious belief. The members of the party must respect religious followers and not infringe their interests. We are making laws and regulations to better guarantee religious belief in China," he says.
Rev John Baptist Zhang
The National Catholic Seminary in Beijing prepares many for the priesthoodThe following words of some of the seminarians who are currently undergoing training in China accentuates optimism. "We truly hope [that in] our country there will be more Christians, and God's word will spread everywhere in our country", says Daniel. His fellow student Jesse added, "I think this nation will change, and I think God is doing great things in China."
- Courtesy: BBC News - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11020947
- Courtesy: BBC News - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11020947
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