A Star in the East: The Rise of Christianity in China Kindle Edition
by Rodney Stark (Author), Xiuhua Wang (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
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What is the state of Christianity in China, really? Some scholars say that China is invulnerable to religion. Some say that past efforts of missionaries have failed, writing off those who were converted as nothing more than “rice Christians,” or cynical souls who had frequented the missions for the benefits they provided. Some wonder if the Cultural Revolution extinguished any chances of Christianity in China.
Rodney Stark and Xiuhua Wang offer a different perspective, arguing that Christianity is alive, well, and even on the rise. Stark approaches the topic from an extensive research background in both Christianity and Chinese history, and Wang provides an inside look at Christianity and its place in her home country of China. Both authors cover the history of religion in China, disproving older theories concerning not only the number of Christians, but the kinds of Christians that have emerged in the past 155 years. Stark and Wang claim that when just considering the visible Christians, those not part of underground churches, there are still thousands of Chinese being converted to Christianity each day, and forty new churches opening each week.
A Star in the East draws on two major national surveys to sketch a close-up of religion in China. A reliable estimate is that by 2007 there were approximately 60 million Christians in China. If the current rate of growth were to hold until 2030, there would be more Christians in China—about 295 million—than in any other nation on earth. This has significant implications, not just for China but for the greater world order. It is probable that Chinese Christianity will splinter into denominations, likely leading to the same kinds of political, social, and economic ramifications seen in the West today.
Editorial Reviews
Review
“Sociologist Rodney Stark has done it again. Readers who enjoyed his earlier works on the Crusades, the rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire, and Christianity’s role in ending slavery will be grateful that he has now applied his brilliance to China.” — David Aikman, author of Jesus in Beijing and other books, and former China correspondent for TIME magazine
“This is a concise, well-written, and stimulating account of the growth and prospects of Christianity in the world’s largest socialist society. Rodney Stark, a leading theorist in the sociology of religion, well-known for his explanations of the rise of Christianity in the Mediterranean world, collaborates with a young scholar from mainland China to describe and explain the extraordinary recent growth of Christianity in China. Highly recommended.” — Graeme Lang, retired professor of sociology (2014), and founder of Asian and International Studies, City University of Hong Kong
“In this brief, very readable account of Christianity in China, authors Stark and Wang argue that cultural incongruity is what has made an opening in Chinese hearts and minds for the Christian faith, while familial and social networking account for the robust patterns of conversion. And contrary to theories that reduce religion to consolation for the poor and marginal, Stark and Wang find that Chinese Christianity is more favored by the affluent and well-educated. This book is a valuable addition to the growing effort to understand Christianity’s rise in China.” — Joel Carpenter, Nagel Institute for the Study of World Christianity, Calvin College
“Books on contemporary China have proliferated in recent years, and plenty of them address the remarkable growth of Christianity. What makes A Star in the East wholly distinctive though— and so very valuable—is its reliance on credible and strictly current quantitative evidence. The book thus provides an essential foundation for any future discussion of the religious scene in contemporary China.” — Philip Jenkins, Baylor University
--This text refers to the hardcover edition.
About the Author
Rodney Stark is the Distinguished Professor of the Social Sciences and Co-Director of the Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor University and Honorary Professor of Sociology at Peking University in Beijing. He is the author or co-author of 36 books in 17 different languages, including the best-selling The Rise of Christianity (HarperSanFrancisco, 1997).
Xiuhua Wang received her BA and MA from Renmin University of China in Beijing and is now working towards her Ph.D. in sociology at Baylor University. She has published several papers in American scholarly journals and at present is exploring the role of gender in conversions to Christianity in China.
--This text refers to the hardcover edition.
Publisher : Templeton Press; First edition (May 2, 2015)
Publication date : May 2, 2015
Language : English
File size : 1836 KB
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
Screen Reader : Supported
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Not Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 161 pages
Rodney Stark
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Biography
Rodney Stark is one of the leading authorities on the sociology of religion. He grew up in Jamestown, North Dakota, where he began his career as a newspaper reporter. Following a tour of duty in the US Army, Stark received his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, where he held appointments as a research sociologist at the Survey Research Center and at the Center for the Study of Law and Society. For many years, the Pulitzer Prize nominee was professor of sociology and professor of comparative religion at the University of Washington. In 2004 he became Distinguished Professor of the Social Sciences and co-director of the Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor University.
Stark has authored more than 150 scholarly articles and 32 books in 17 different languages, including several widely used sociology textbooks and best-selling titles like The Rise of Christianity: How the Obscure, Marginal Jesus Movement Became the Dominant Religious Force in the Western World in a Few Centuries; The Triumph of Faith: Why the World is More Religious Than Ever; The Triumph of Christianity: How the Jesus Movement Became the World's Largest Religion; God’s Battalions: The Case for the Crusades; A Star in the East: The Rise of Christianity ion China; and The Victory of Reason: How Christianity Led to Freedom, Capitalism, and Western Success.
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Top reviews from the United States
kyle
5.0 out of 5 stars Good combination of sweeping history and compelling statistics!!
Reviewed in the United States on July 14, 2015
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A Star in the East: The Rise of Christianity in China, by Rodney Stark, is a short book that combines a sweeping history of missions to China with recent, reliable statistics on its effects and implications.
Although the whole is pervaded by Rodney Stark’s sociological rigor, this book is in no way reducible to dispassionate science or mere technical research. This is the story of faith’s resilience under an aggressive, government-lead policy of persecution that resulted in the death of many million people. In 1966, under the threat of Mao Zedong’s Red Guard, whose slogans included, “Beating down foreign religion” and “Beating down Jesus following”, Christianity went underground but not into hibernation. The oft quoted maxim held true under Chairman Mao as it did under Stalin, “Religion is like a nail, the harder you hit it, the deeper it goes”. When Christianity was legalized again in 1980, the 4 million Christians who went into hiding had multiplied to 10 million. Today they number around 100 million (115). “By any standard, the recent growth of Christianity in China has been meteoric” (113). Forty new churches open every week, not counting underground house churches (2). The growth rate of Christianity since 1980 has been 7% per year. If this rate continues for 15 more years, there will be more Christians in China than in any other nation—294.6 million (114).
The recent reception of Christ by millions in one of the oldest and most advanced civilizations in history—in a country with such devotion to the past, an entrenched local religion, and a historically antagonistic government—is a testimony to missionary sacrifice, the spiritual hunger of all men, and the faithfulness of God.
Below were some of the most interesting parts of this book for me.
Protestant Vs Catholic Missions
Stark’s analysis of why Protestant missions were more successful in the long run than Catholic missions, despite the latter’s huge head start (1582 vs 1807) and initially greater numbers was fascinating. The foreign control of the pope, the hierarchical structure of the church, and the necessity for an ordained priest to conduct the mass all hampered the Catholic efforts and left them more exposed to persecution. Today, Catholics in China are outnumbered by Protestants by at least 10 to 1 (56).
Liberal Christianity’s Missional Failure
The reason for liberal Christianity’s failure in mission was interesting. The Social Gospel promoted by liberal theologians was more focused on bringing sanitation than salvation. However, “it soon became obvious that people will seldom face the hardships of missionary service merely to do good deeds. Without the conviction that they were bringing priceless truths to those in need, the mission spirit quickly dissipated in liberal Protestant circles” (34). The percentage of American missionaries sent by liberal denominations has declined continuously: 90% (1900), 50% (1935), 25% (1948), 4% (2015).
Vignettes Of Chinese Preachers
The vignettes of key Chinese pastors and preachers was inspiring. Chapter 3 is a short catalog of China’s “cloud of witnesses”. Their stories reminded me that even with all the recent disparagement that has accompanied the unChristianizing of cultural America, we really don’t know what persecution means. We Christians in the West have prided ourselves for a long time on our theological superiority and advancement when compared to non-Western countries, but we are far behind them in suffering. I was very pleased to see the inclusion of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee in this chapter. To overlook their positive contribution to Christianity in China is simply biased historical scholarship.
Debunking Marxist Theories Of Religion
Chapters 4-5 debunk the Marxist theory of religion—that it is the opium of oppressed people in their material misery—with statistics showing that the more educated someone is in China, the more likely he is to be Christian and the less educated he is, the more likely he is to be Buddhist. Stark’s views on spiritual deprivation and cultural incongruity and how they are responsible for so many well educated Chinese accepting Christianity is fascinating.
Equally fascinating is Stark’s view that “social networks are the basic mechanism through which conversion takes place” (50). Stark argues that most people convert to a new religion due to social ties not attractive doctrines (49). Of course doctrines are important, they practically define a religion, but Stark argues that they function more in retaining converts and prompting them to share their faith, rather than convincing them initially. This might be a little too sociological reductive for me, but seems to me there is some truth here.
Faith’s Amazing Resilience And God’s Amazing Sovereignty
Another highlight for me was the perseverance and success of mission work in China despite huge, continual setbacks. Gamaliel’s word in the book of Acts comes to mind, “Should this counsel or this work be of men, it will be overthrown; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them, lest you be found to be even fighters against God” (Acts 5:38-39). History continues to prove that the gospel cannot be stamped out by the brute force of totalitarian governments. The paradox of the gospel is that a weak Jesus who can die produces a powerful message that can save, enliven, and overcome. The rise of Christianity in China with all its major players is certainly God’s doing.
Here is a brief timeline of the major setbacks in China, with a few other key events included:
1524: the first Catholic missionary arrives in China (Matteo Ricci)
1724: the emperor outlaws Christianity as an evil cult
1807: the first Protestant missionary arrives in China (Robert Morrison)
1814: the emperor issues an edict stating that all those spreading the gospel “shall be sentenced to death by immediate strangulation” while hearers or followers of Christianity shall be shipped to Muslim cities as slaves
1859: a treaty imposed on China by Western powers legalizes the open preaching of the gospel
1864: the Taiping Rebellion rages, resulting in 20-30 million deaths, mostly civilians, by 1871
1899: the Boxer Rebellion to rid China of all “foreign devils” begins. The Boxers murder at least 30,000 Christians
1914: World War I reduces the missionizing efforts of European countries
1919: the May Fourth Movement erupts and a new form of militant nationalism hostile to Christianity forms
1922: the Anti-Christian Federation is formed, soon renamed as the Anti-Religious Federation
1930s: the Great Depression greatly reduces the funding and support of American missions
1937: Japan invades China displacing many missionaries
1939: World War II starts. No new missionaries arrive until after the war
1945: with World War II over, the Chinese civil war resumes
1949: Communists take control of China
1950: foreign missionaries begin to be arrested and charged with spying, much church property is seized
1953: all foreign missionaries are expelled from China
1966: Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution beings, leading to aggressive persecution of Christians
1979: Christianity is legalized again
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13 people found this helpful
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Joseph Boenzi
5.0 out of 5 stars History and sociology at the service of pastoral approaches
Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2018
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Using social and historical data, authors Rodney Stark and Xiuhua Wang survey the situation of Christianity in China through the rise and fall of Communism. All Christian denominations are examined in the Chinese context, although the gaze of Baylor university professor Stark centers on the Evangelical churches above all. An interesting takeaway for me from Stark and Wang's findings is that clear doctrine is not enough to win converts to Christianity in China, nor is heroic witness. What seems to count in a personal relationship with a practicing Christian. These findings offer interesting points of departure for lay Christians ministering among adults.
This book was recommended to me by one of my students at the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology, Berkeley
One person found this helpful
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Leib Gershon Mitchell
5.0 out of 5 stars Brief and insightful
Reviewed in the United States on September 24, 2015
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This book was good.
1. I counted something like 140 references. That works out to just about one primary reference per page.
2. Baylor University is known to be a Baptist university, yet the authors were very even handed in their treatment (even though one could imagine that they would have had reasons to be enthused about the Christianization of China or reasons to be smug about the failure of the Catholic church to expand in China).
3. The book was wonderfully brief (the whole thing can be read in about 3 hours). The actual text is something like 140 pages (I have to estimate because Kindle does not give page numbers).
4. The book is several things in one. There are 6 chapters.
a. New Religious Awakening (current circumstances in China and the dramatic increase in recent years);
b. Christian Missions to China (detailing how Christianity came to be what it is in China (exclusive of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau) and some of its various persecutions (i.e. the Boxer Rebellion));
c. Repression and Christianity (the stories of some Chinese Christians who would not be broken of their beliefs in spite of years of imprisonment/ physical torture/ persecutions);
d. Converting the Educated;
e. Converting Rural China;
f. Future Prospects and Consequences (295 million by 2030 and 580 million by 2040).
What do we learn from this neat little book? Quite a bit, as it happens:
1. A lot of people (academics) try to smear the church as an institution of poor and stupid people. This is not quite right. It appears that a most of the missionary work is done to upper class Chinese people. (University graduates, etc.) At best, number of people who were converted among poor and rich was about equal.
2. Some people like to imagine that the missionary work is done by foreigners trying to find a way to convert Chinese people. But according to these authors (convincingly), most of the work is done by local Chinese converting their own kinds.
3. It is commonly imagined that the Chinese state is repressive toward the church. But that appears to not be the case. In the same way that China is nominally Communist-- but not really (in practice, they are open to market reforms and state capitalism), here they appear to be nominally atheist (but in practice willing to leave the people to worship as they will).
4. We learn a bit about "the strength of weak ties." This is a famous idea in the academic world-- but brought to life in an interesting and unforeseen way here. In a nutshell, people who are poorer tend to have stronger ties with fewer people, but those who are wealthy have weaker ties with a larger number of people. Apparently, the latter types of ties are more useful in leveraging for building careers. Could it be that the church will create such a network of people in China? Only time will tell.,
5. The authors take to task the MANY authors who have made predictions both about China (the 2006 prediction that the country would be democratic by 2015) as well as popular misconceptions that just won't die (Protestant work ethic).
6. Finding a religious belief is not usually something that is done by poor people. And this is because finding food and shelter is "to be wholly without a sense of futility" (Eric Hoffer). But it people who are well-fed who have time to ponder existential questions, such as "values" and the "meaning of life." Why should we not be surprised that as China gets richer there are more people who have time to find such needs?
7. There is discussion of why the Protestants have succeeded in conversion whereas the Catholics have not. (Doesn't it seem like the Catholic Church has a lag time of at least 500 years?) The answers that they give are: a. The Catholic Church insists on uniformity of doctrine (and therefore charismatic preachers/ preachers who have not been trained for years and years can't get a start) and the right to appoint its own bishops (this is a sovereignty issue that the government will not "just drop").
Verdict: This book is worth the time that it takes to read because it gives just a little bit more insight into a specialized aspect of the fascinating land of China.
It is better and more thoroughly researched than David Aikman's book Jesus in Beijing: How Christianity Is Transforming China And Changing the Global Balance of Power (even though that book is cited in this) and should be read in preference to that book.
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7 people found this helpful
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E. Johnson
5.0 out of 5 stars Great overview of Christianity in China
Reviewed in the United States on July 4, 2017
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If you like stats and you are interested in the rise of Christianity in China, you will find this book to be worth your time. I had the chance to spend three weeks in this country, so I read this book before I went to help me better understand what Christianity is all about. According to the stats, China had 60 million Christians in China in 2007 and the growth rate is about 7%. This means most people you meet will be converts and not just born into the church, which is exactly what I found to be true. All in all, it's to-the-point and easy-to-read format made this a valuable reference book and will provide a helpful background for many interested in this topic.
One person found this helpful
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L. SCEARCY
4.0 out of 5 stars Good if you like numbers and statistics
Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2017
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Well written book. I like all of Stark's books that I have read. Gives a snapshot of Christianity in China at the present time. I only gave it a 4 because the first third of the book is all numbers and statistics. Made it hard to stay with it. I am an accountant and a numbers guy but it was still too much for me. It would have been nice to have more flesh and bone with it.
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Top reviews from other countries
gilbert s mane
5.0 out of 5 stars Very interesting but dated
Reviewed in Australia on March 13, 2021
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A fascinating review of the history and development of Christianity in China up to 2015. Events since that date have rendered some of the tentative predictions moot. But who knows? Persecution and suppression of Christianity often turns and bites the persecutors. Highly recommended.
Evan Galway
5.0 out of 5 stars Great
Reviewed in Canada on June 13, 2019
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I loved it. Short but very informative. It's an easy read
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