Comments on: Does Economic Development Encourage Or Discourage The Growth Of Christianity In China?

By: Omar Pradhan

Omar Pradhan — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 21:18:48 +0000

I believe human beings need some form of narrative to give their life meaning or connect them to some larger purpose. In China, that used to occur through the ancient faith traditions such as Buddhism or Confucianism. Until recently, the anti-theistic, paternalistic state was the sole provider of meaning. With the introduction of western capitalism, Kristof and others posit that Christianity, the dominant religion of the west, is “unofficially” on the rise. I see this as a natural response to the perceived inadequacy of the Central Chinese government’s secular attempts to provide a compelling, meaningful narrative. Moreover, it seems logical that Christianity would be a comparatively fast mover in filling the void (as opposed to other Faith narratives) because the vast majority of western investors / partners are Christian. Thus, indirectly, the current arrangement of economic development encourages the growth of Christianity. I should add, as an individual who identifies as secular humanist, the educational institutions in China (or lack thereof) should be seen as a contributing factor to this phenomenon.

By: J Vail

J Vail — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 20:48:12 +0000

I am not religious in any way, shape, or form, so I really have no idea how to take a stance on this issue. If anything, this short video reminded me of sentiments I had watching other videos in class on the factory economic expansion in China. The huge factory employment base is similar to job distribution in the Industrial Revolution in our country – a time where Christianity was solidified and expanded in our country as well. Perhaps there is a need to derive faith through working 12 hours a day? I have no idea.

I think that now that people’s lives are more stable with economic conditions, they can look towards faith to justify the accomplishments they have made so far. The additional reading was refreshing because stories about the Chinese people having small victories over the government are infrequent at best. It seems crazy in the first place that in the 21st century people would have to disguise churches, but if Christianity can still expand in these circumstances, then most likely attendance will meet the figures they provided in the video.

By: Matt Streiter

Matt Streiter — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 01:00:07 +0000

I feel that relating religion to economic conditions may have a lose association but to find a strong correlation may be a stretch and an attempt to find something that isn’t actually there. From my observations people who are not very religious turn to religion when they hit highs or lows in their life while people who are devoted to their religion will remain consistent throughout their lives. When reflecting on this questions I feel that milestones lead to a temporary increase in religious faith as people as a whole tend to turn to a higher power to look for an explanation.

As in 9/11 I felt that our country was more unified than in any other point in my life time and many people looked towards religion to find comfort in our nation’s tragedy. On the other extreme what came to mind was people accepting awards at the grammys, oscars, and other similar events and praising their religion for making their success possible. Sometimes I feel that it is an attempt to show humbleness rather than true reflection on religion though. Regardless, I feel that people turn to religion in searching for reasoning of milestones. Relating this to China, it may seem that religious affliliation may be on the rise due to great economic success there, but I also believe the same level would exist in a great economic recession, just for different reasons.

If a substantial increase in Christianity did increase in China I believe that it would be due to Chinese embracing western culture and/or due to heavy migration to China which would increase the influence there. Advances in communication definitely are allowing Chinese to explore other cultures and religions that may not be native to them. I think the rise or non-rsie of christianity will be more dependent on immigration statistics.

By: JP Salazar

JP Salazar — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 00:46:44 +0000

It is my belief that increased economic development will help encourage the growth of Christianity in China. With increased economic growth comes a higher average standard of living for the people of China. Higher standards of living result in an increase in leisure time. Kristof says in his article that there is a sense of hollowness amongst people going through political and social change. Traditionally, the people of China were encouraged to internalize the Mao-esque ideals for their belief system. But increased political and social freedoms have decreased the emphasis on these fervent socialist ideals. This change provokes people’s desire to have something to hold onto. Religion is poised to fill in this gap. Turbulent social change drives people towards faith. The result of this is the unprecedented growth seen in Christianity over the past decade. I see this trend continuing into the future.
But political and social freedoms do not always lead to religious freedoms. I found it very interesting how diverse the reaction to Christianity appeared in different regions of China. Why were local reactions so different in different areas? I have to attribute this to the different social landscapes in different regions of China. China really is a land full of huge amounts of diversity. But how different do the situations have to be to have religions tolerance in some regions and people being beaten and imprisoned in others. It just seems strange to me that such different reactions can be tolerated.

By: Chris Fung

Chris Fung — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 08:32:43 +0000

This is an interesting question. I usually assumed that religion was easier spread across the uneducated and underdeveloped areas of the world (i.e. you usually see missionaries go to those places) since many messages of religion is that god will be salvation and that the next life will be better than the current situation. This is view is further reinforced by the fact that Christianity numbers are stagnant or declining in the developed worlds. Plus with economic development comes more freedoms and temptations and many people are distracted by this. As a Catholic, I know the Pope’s Christmas message usually involves moderating modern materialism and to help those who are without faith.

With China, however, I see an opportunity for Christianity (and other religions). This is because since there are not many religions allowed to be practiced due to government control, many people have no personal affiliation to religion. As more people live better lives, create wealth, and live longer, I am sure they begin to question if there is anything else to life and here is where religion can fill that void. Those wealthy could use their wealth to help the greater good of humanity. While not necessarily a religious only goal, it is a theme held by many religions. Plus as people have more free time due to modern conveniences, they might want to seek answers that only religion might offer.

By: Ben Raymond

Ben Raymond — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 01:38:13 +0000

Religion is often related to scientific development but I’ve never considered the effect of economic development on the spread of religion. It seems to me that the Chinese government was suppressing the spread of religion pretty strictly until recently. With China’s economic development, the government has seemed to ease up on some of their previously strict policies, such as religious suppression. If economic development continues to relax the controls of the Chinese government in order to keep maintain social stability, then it seems logical that religion will be able to spread more freely.

As others have previously mentioned, another factor could be that with the economic development of China the citizens have more free time and more reasons to be thankful. This is an encouraging environment to get in touch with ones spiritual self. Christianity is viewed as a religion of the Western world and while the government may still be against adopting western practices, I’m sure many Chinese citizens are eager to explore religious freedoms and practice the religion of their choice.

Overall, I wouldn’t say that in general economic development encourages or discourages the spread of religion. Their are cases where economic development allows more freedoms and in these cases suppressed practices tend to benefit.

By: Randy Camat

Randy Camat — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 04:04:48 +0000

From what I got in reading the NY Times article and watching the short video, economic development does encourage the growth of Christianity in China. It makes sense that there’s a growth in religious practice as the economy and standard of life improves. As things get better, there is the need to be thankful and religion/Christianity is a great outlet. Furthermore, the NY Times article highlights how many Christians in China have fought against discriminatory actions towards Christianity. These bold stands coupled with a bettering economy are perfect factors for a spread in Christianity.

I don’t think the same thing happens in the United States. Generally when times are tough, people look to a higher power for guidance and reasoning, but when things are going well, religion, in my opinion, does not play a big factor. There are many things to take into account when times are good – what to buy next, where to go for the next vacation, let’s buy this and that. There is a sort of rush to it that makes people blind and gives them little time to slow down until they’re off to their next economic opportunity.

By: Kyle R.

Kyle R. — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 07:23:14 +0000

I think that economic development of a country does have a direct relationship to religion. Like many others have stated, when times are economically tough for people, I believe that there is more of a tendency to practice religion. On the other hand, when times are economically sound, there will be more distractions and therefore a reduced focus on religion. I also agree with Tim’s response in saying that as businessmen from the West come to a country, they will also bring their religion.

I read an article by Nicholas Kristoff in the New York Times called “God in China” about a woman who was tortured to reveal the names of her fellow church members. The article described a horrific scenario in which she and her son were tortured in separate rooms just because they were practicing Christianity. The article states, that in remote area police can arrest people and torture or kill them with impunity, even if they are trying to do nothing more than worship God. The article also touches on the fact that 97 percent of the world’s executions take place in China, in which some of those are Christians or members of the Falun Gong sect. I think the primary influence on Christianity in China is the government’s control and not necessarily the economic conditions. Once people have the freedom to worship what they want, without the possibility of imprisonment or death from police, Christianity will spread exponentially throughout China.

By: Jessie Wilkie

Jessie Wilkie — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 05:08:04 +0000

It’s hard to say whether or not economic development promotes or works against religious faith. There are a lot of different examples from around the world of religion. These examples come from a variety of different cultures, places, and economic statuses. We see people cling to religion when they have nothing else (including money). We see people forsake money for religion. In Christianity, in the United States this can be done through offering and tithing. We see people who have millions of dollars praising God (Oprah). We also see people living comfortable and being atheists. With all that said, I would say that it’s hard to say what people are going to do when it comes to religion.

On another note, I thought the video was good. I’m really enjoying Kristof’s work. I really like the fact that I can watch a 3 minute video clip and feel like I learned something. I knew that Chinese were on strict watch when it came to religion, but I didn’t know how they worked around the system. It was interesting to see the way that the Chinese practiced religion from a living room between two houses. I also thought that the projection that there would be 300-400 million Christians in China, making it the largest Christian nation, was fascinating. All-in-all this was an interesting blog post.

By: j hurley

j hurley — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 21:48:21 +0000

I have never thought about this relation or even know where to begin to understand it let alone make an educated statement.
However, I think that as economic growth increases, ways of life increase as well as freedoms (in most cases). As freedoms increase, the separation between peoples beliefs and way of life will also increase. I think this is what we are seeing in China due to the fact that different practices are being allowed including free markets, religion, etc.( at least on some scale)