Official vs. Underground Protestant Churches in China: Challenges for Reconciliation and Social Influence
Protestant Christianity in China is divided into two segments, an official Protestant church and unofficial, "underground" church. As China's doors are opening to increased capitalism and modernization, the Protestant church in China may have the potential to offer a much-needed stabi...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2004
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| In: |
Review of religious research
Year: 2004, Volume: 46, Issue: 2, Pages: 169-182 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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| Summary: | Protestant Christianity in China is divided into two segments, an official Protestant church and unofficial, "underground" church. As China's doors are opening to increased capitalism and modernization, the Protestant church in China may have the potential to offer a much-needed stabilizing societal influence. This article examines the strengths and weaknesses of both the official and unofficial Protestant churches from an organizational perspective. Four organizational theories - social construct theory, social network theory, religious marketplace theory, and religious cultural influence theory - are employed in evaluating each church group's potential for influencing a changing Chinese society and the likelihood that the two churches will unite in that effort. Each church group has developed distinctive qualities that make social influence possible but in limited venues and with limited groups of people. Their unique but conflicting characteristics make it unlikely that the two would become a united Protestant church. |
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| ISSN: | 2211-4866 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Review of religious research
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2307/3512231 |