page_title: Christianity in China
section_title: Popularity and indigenous growth (1900–1925)
hierarchical_section_title: Christianity in China / History / 19th to 20th centuries / Popularity and indigenous growth (1900–1925)
caption_attribution_description: English: A Roman Catholic Church by the Lancang (Mekong) River at Cizhong (茨中), Yunnan Province, China. It was built by the French missionary at the end of 19th century, and subsequently incinarated, then rebuilt from 1907 to 1911. Since the region is very ethnically diverse, the church members include ethnic groups such as Han, Tibetans (Zang), Naxi, Lisu etc. (Here's more details) Français&#160;: Une église catholique le long du fleuve Lancang (Mékong) à Cizhong (茨中), Xian de Dêqên, province du Yunnan, Chine. Elle fut fondée par les missionnaires français de la Société des missions étrangères de Paris à la fin du XIXe siècle, fut incendiée, puis reconstruite de 1907 à 1911. Comme la région comporte des ethnies très diverses, les membres de la paroisse incluent des Hans, des Tibétains (Zang), des Naxis, des Lisus, etc... (Davantage de détails) 中文: 关于云南生德钦县茨中罗曼式建筑天主教学
context_page_description: Christianity in China appeared in the 7th century, during the Tang dynasty, but did not take root until it was reintroduced in the 16th century by Jesuit missionaries. Today, it comprises Catholics, Protestants, Evangelicals and a small number of Orthodox Christians. Although its history in China is not as ancient as Taoism, Mahayana Buddhism or Confucianism, Christianity, through various ways, has been present in China since at least the 7th century and has gained significant influence during the last 200 years. The number of Chinese Christians has increased significantly since the easing of restrictions on religious activity during economic reforms in the late 1970s; Christians were four million before 1949.Accurate data on Chinese Christians is hard to access. The government declared in 2018 that there are over 44 million Christians in China. On the other hand, some international Christian organizations estimate there are tens of millions more, who choose not to publicly identify as such, but these estimations are usually controversial and even suspected as deliberate inflation. The practice of religion continues to be tightly controlled by government authorities.
context_section_description: Many scholars see the historical period between the Boxer Uprising and the Second Sino-Japanese War as a golden age of Chinese Christianity, as converts grew rapidly and churches were built in many regions of China. Following the 1910 World Missionary Conference in Glasgow, Protestant missionaries energetically promoted what they called "indigenization", that is assigning the leadership of churches to local Christian leaders. The Chinese National YMCA was the first to do so. In the 1920s, a group of church leaders formed the National Christian Council to coordinate interdenominational activity. Among the leaders were Cheng Jingyi, who was influential at the Glasgow Conference with his call for a non-denominational church. The way was prepared for the creation of the Church of Christ in China, a unified non-denominational church.
  After World War I, the New Culture Movement fostered an intellectual atmosphere that promoted Science and Democracy. Although some of the movement's leaders, such as Chen Duxiu, initially expressed admiration for the role that Christianity played in building the strong nations of the West, as well as approving the emphasis on love and social service, Christianity became identified in the eyes of many young Chinese with foreign control of China. The 1923 Anti-Christian Movement attacked missionaries and their followers on the grounds that no religion was scientific and that the Christian church in China was a tool of the foreigners. Such Chinese Protestants as the liberals David Z. T. Yui, head of the Chinese National YMCA, and Y. T. Wu (Wu Yaozong), Wu Leichuan, T. C. Chao, and the theologically more conservative Chen Chonggui responded by developing social programs and theologies that devoted themselves to strengthening the Chinese nation. Y. C. James Yen, a graduate of Yale University, led a program of village reform.
  Several political leaders of the Republican period were Protestant Christians, including Sun Yat-sen, Chiang Kai-shek, Feng Yuxiang, and Wang Zhengting. Leading writers include Lin Yutang, who renounced his Christianity for several decades. His journey of faith from Christianity to Taoism and Buddhism, and back to Christianity in his later life was recorded in his book From Pagan to Christian (1959).
  Lottie Moon (1840-1912), representing the Southern Baptist, was the most prominent woman missionary. Although an equality-oriented feminist who rejected male dominance, the Southern Baptists have memorialized her as a southern belle who followed traditional gender roles.
caption: A Roman Catholic church by the Lancang (Mekong) River at Cizhong, Yunnan Province, China. It was built by French missionaries in the mid-19th century, but was burnt during the anti-foreigner movement in 1905 and rebuilt in the 1920s. The congregation is mainly Tibetan, but some members are of Han, Naxi, Lisu, Yi, Bai and Hui ethnicity.
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