Schism

The title of Christie Chui-Shan Chow’s book Schism: Seventh-Day Adventism in Post-Denominational China encapsulates its central argument. The survival of congregations that identify as Seventh-Day Adventists by definition challenges the Chinese government contention that Protestant Christianity in China is “post-denominational.” Chinese Adventists, like Adventists globally, have traditions that distinguish them from the majority of Protestant denominations, such as a belief in the imminent return of Jesus Christ, worshipping on Saturday rather than Sunday, revering the writings of the nineteenth-century Adventist founder Ellen White, and dietary restrictions, sometimes including vegetarianism. These distinctive beliefs and practices make it particularly difficult for Seventh-Day Adventists to merge into a unified Chinese Protestant church (1–2). In the eastern coastal city of Wenzhou, a city where Adventists have had a historical presence dating from the early twentieth century, a series of “schisms” occurred between the 1970s and 2010s over how to interpret these traditions, particularly focusing on relations with government authorities and other Chinese Protestants. Chow views these church divisions as “intimately associated” with a “passion for converting other Chinese to what they considered an authentic Adventism”(220). The story of these schisms, Chow argues, “challenges us to acknowledge that there is a vibrant denominational current flowing under the evidently false notion of a ‘post-denominational’ Chinese church” (218). This book contributes important insights into the tension between the development of a distinctly Chinese Christianity and the idea of Chinese Christians belonging to a broader Christian global community, concerns about the legacies of Western imperialism in Chinese Christianity, and the nature of religious freedom in China. At the broadest level it brings up questions about the differences between “denomination,” “sect,” and “heresy” and makes connections between democracy, civil society, and denominationalism.The book is based on fieldwork among Chinese Adventists between 2010 and 2019. According to Chow, her own Adventist identity “had everything to do with” her access to Adventists in China, as she acted as a “participant-observer” in Adventist communities “regardless of their factional background” (23–24). While her focus was on Adventist communities, she visited other Protestant denominations, as well as Buddhist and Daoist services, to gain a broader understanding of the religious landscape in Wenzhou. The fieldwork was supplemented by archival research in Chinese government and Adventist archives, and personal collections of letters, diaries, and memoirs shared by the author’s informants (27). The unusual level of access Chow had to the Seventh-Day Adventist community allows for a very detailed picture of the schisms and the issues involved, helping the reader to see the conflicts through multiple perspectives and understand their importance to the participants. At the same time, Chow maintains the distance to explain these schisms in a broader social and historical context. While the book gives enough description of the people involved to offer a vivid picture to readers, it does not become too bogged down in details, saving a more narrative account of the main actors for the appendix.In the first chapter, a discussion of the history of Adventism in Wenzhou from the arrival of Adventist missionaries in 1903 to 2017, Chow sets up her argument about the importance of denominationalism in Chinese Christianity. Coming to power in 1949, the People’s Republic of China permitted Christian worship on the condition of cutting ties with all foreign entities and proving their patriotism under the Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM), eventually requiring churches to unite into one patriotic church. This was difficult for Adventist leaders who saw themselves as part of a global body of Adventists, and the Seventh-Day Adventist church as transcending nations. These leaders faced charges of “imperialism,” and many faced prison (50–56). Chow argues that “the discourse of ‘imperialism’ was a powerful rhetorical device to justify this top-down, forceful strategy of church unification”(56). During the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) worship was illegal, but the chaos allowed for the development of “house churches” and secret revivals. In the post-Mao era, when China began reopening, Adventist leaders were released from prison, and ties with global Adventist organizations were reestablished. The government reinstated the TSPM, adding the China Christian Council (CCC). Yet, because the TSPM/CCC does not recognize denominations, there is no Adventist organization with the authority to mediate conflicts.The next three chapters discuss the major schisms in the Chinese Adventist church. The first schism, beginning in 1978, involved a conflict over whether to continue a new style of prayer that had been adopted by younger Adventist leaders during the time of underground house worship. Older Adventists, who had been trained under missionaries and often imprisoned, rejected this prayer, along with the greater focus on faith rather than works as the means of salvation. This led to a split between “conservatives” and “reformists.” The second split, discussed in chapter 3, was the development of a “Wilderness” faction in the 1980s and 1990s that refused to register with the TSPM/CCC, referring to churches that did register as “Babylon.” Chapter 4 discusses the “Wheatfield” faction, founded in 2009, which held that some Adventist traditions (e.g., dietary restrictions and revering Ellen White) were not necessary for salvation, and downplayed the “end times” doctrine. Pointing to the “fine line between denominationality and ‘heresy’” in “China’s post-denominational context,” Chow argues that the Wheatfield faction was a response to the Chinese government campaign against “evil cults” in the 1990s and 2000s, an attempt to “deflect similar attacks on Adventism”(134). Chapter 5 uses a conservative/reformist split that resulted in two nearly identical churches side by side to focus on “the agency of Adventist women” in Adventist schisms (166). Chapters 6 and 7, showing a failed union attempt from three nearby Adventist churches and a successful if brief coalition between different Adventist factions, respectively, provide case studies that show the complexity of relationships between the Chinese state, the TSPM/CCC, and individual churches.The conclusion brings these diverse cases together and makes clear the broader importance of denominationalism, arguing that it “presupposes democracy, lay volunteerism, and disestablishment of church hierarchy,” relying on a “civil society that respects freedom of religion.” While the Chinese state views denominations as a relic of Western imperialism, Chow argues that “calling for a Sinicized Christianity and a post-denominational church is like putting believers into a birdcage, mandating uniformity on diverse Protestant populations” (226).The deep insight this book provides into the vexed question of denominations in China makes it essential reading for anyone interested in understanding Christianity in China. Chow excels at connecting the compelling stories of each schism with broader questions about Chinese Christianity and the nature of church divisions. The book is accessible enough to be used in advanced undergraduate classes, while the sophisticated analysis makes it appropriate for graduate-level courses. The book would not only enrich courses about Chinese Christianity or world Christianity, but it would also provide a fresh perspective in theological courses about the development of denominations and church splits. I would have liked to have seen the gendered analysis that Chow brings to chapter 5 throughout the book. I also wondered about how class intersected with gender in the schism discussed in chapter 5. But one book cannot answer every question, and it is the mark of a good book when readers care enough to want to know more

China · Political science · Politics · Schism · Chinese history and philosophy · Law · Vietnamese History and Culture Studies