Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Evangelical
ChinaSource looks at denominations in China and its churches

ChinaSource looks at denominations in China and its churches

Last updated on: June 14, 2018 at 7:00 am by Brad Vaughn

ChinaSource looks at denominations in China and its churches 2018-06-13T12:08:25-07:00 Brad Vaughn

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Last week, I wrote a post explaining the structure of many Chinese churches and the influence of patronage in pastoral relationships. By coincidence, ChinaSource Quarterly just published an entire issue discussing denominationalism in China. In case you missed it, the previous issue of ChinaSource Quarterly focused on contextualization!

The guest editor, Mary Li Ma, recently wrote Surviving the State, Remaking the Church: A Sociological Portrait of Christians in Mainland China, which is already receiving acclaim from reviewers. She opens with an editorial “Let’s Be Honest about Denominationalism in China,” where she writes,

When it comes to discussions on denominations or denominationalism in China, Christians easily get stuck on the basic questions: Are there now denominations among churches in China? Isn’t China on the post-denominational end of the continuum? Should there be denominations? If so, how should they work?

The first two are factual questions, and the last two are more theological or missiological. This issue of ChinaSource Quarterly seeks to address these ongoing questions but also to extend the discussion beyond what meets the eye on the China scene. (For example, many of these issues boil down to the problem of leadership.) With the exception of one, the contributors to this issue are all Chinese nationals who have lived the experiences of the phenomenon in China.

Check out some of the articles included in this issue.

Feature Articles

Denominationalism or Nondenominationalism: Is There a Third Way?

LI Jin
The author looks at the history of denominationalism in China and discusses what being part of a denomination means.

The Waning of a Pragmatic Cosmopolitanism:Western Denominations in the Views of Cheng Jingyi and Ni Tuosheng

Jesse Sun
Sun considers the differences between the views of Cheng and Ni regarding denominations in the first half of the twentieth century.

The Influence of Denominations on Church Organizational Structure in China

Wei Zhou
The issues of theological stance and church governance that impact the decision of whether or not to be a part of a denomination are discussed.

Denominationalism: A Double-edged Sword

Andrew Qie
The author alerts us to the dangers that denominationalism can bring, especially with a new generation of educated, urban Christians who desire to pursue godliness.

Book Review

The Shaping of Christianity in China Today

Surviving the State, Remaking the Church: A Sociological Portrait of Christians in Mainland China by Li Ma and Jin Li Two book reviews provide Eastern (Jun Wang) and Western (Richard Cook) perspectives.

ChinaSource Perspective

Questions Beneath the Surface
Brent Fulton, Editor

Resource Corner

The Collected Works of Watchman Nee
The books, articles, and sermons of Watchman Nee available online in Chinese and English.

Previous Post

June 13, 2018

The Message of Genesis 1 in a Single Picture

Next Post

June 20, 2018 Looking Back on the Orality Movement (Tom Steffen)

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Atonement Biblical Theology Book Reviews China Chinese Church Chinese Culture Chinese Language Collectivism Contextualization Culture (General) Ecclesiology Evangelism Gospel Honor & Shame (Face) Interpretation/Exegesis Justification/Righteousness Missiology Mission Methods One Gospel for All Nations Other Practical Contextualization Reading Romans with Eastern Eyes Resources Romans Salvation (General) Saving God's Face Seeking God's Face The Cross in Context Theological Contextualization Theological Education Theology Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who said, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof" but asked Jesus to heal his servant?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Peter A Pharisee A Roman centurion A scribe

Books by This Author Books by Brad Vaughn

See All Titles »