Does God Mind?’
Reshaping Chinese Christian Rites of Passage, c .1877–1940
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12034048 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Tim Yung (0000-0001-5160-4232, University of Hong Kong, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 59 |
| Pages | 359-382 |
| Publication date | 2023-06-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Studies in Church History (BOOK_SERIES) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0424-2084 • E-ISSN: 2059-0644 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/stc.2023.13 |
| OpenAlex | W4381742931 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 2 |
Chinese Anglicans and missionaries wrestled with the relationship between Christian rituals and culture. Missionaries entered China with preconceived notions about rites of passage, but quickly realized the difficulties of implementation. For example, with the backdrop of Western imperialism, clergy reported ‘unworthy adherents’ misusing their certificates of admission to churches only to gain extraterritorial legal privileges. Another question was how far traditional Chinese wedding customs could be integrated into Christian marriage. Students at Anglican schools wondered whether God would ‘mind’ if they believed Jesus in their hearts, but did not receive baptism because of parental opposition, because, to them, both faith and filial piety mattered. The complexity of the Chinese social and cultural context made it impossible to prescribe set formats for rites of passage. Instead, clergy and Chinese Anglicans reshaped rites of passage by referring to loosely formulated guidelines, using case-by-case discretion, and adjusting to their surroundings
Baptism · China · Chinese culture · Context (archaeology · Discretion · Faith · Filial piety · Opposition (politics · Piety · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Theology · Chinese history and philosophy · Christian Theology and Mission · Gender Studies · History · Law · Philosophy · Religious studies · Religious Tourism and Spaces · Religious Studies
| Highly cited | No |
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