China: Christian Groups Draw Professional Elites And Social Activists...

...and Put Authorities On Red Alert

The Shouwang Church and other Protestant Christian groups have a potentially powerful mix of Calvinist ideology, social activism and influence among China's educated elite -- even members of the ruling Communist party.
June 2nd, 2011
By Ursula Gauthier
LE NOUVEL OBSERVATEUR/Worldcrunch

BEIJING – Every Sunday at 8:30 a.m. sharp, you see them coming to the unwelcoming square in the middle of the university neighborhood in Beijing. Skinny young girls dressed in jeans and wearing ponytails, elegant couples in their 40s, distinguished men that look like retired teachers: they all gather here with a funny mix of hesitation and bravery on their faces. Minutes later, the anti-riot police intervene and arrest them without encountering any resistance. On the bus that takes them to the police station, they open their prayer book and start singing liturgical songs.

The people who so bravely defy the formidable security forces every week belong to the Protestant Shouwang church, the biggest and best known “house” church in Beijing. Shouwang means “to keep watch” in Mandarin. Notoriously independent, they refuse to let themselves be absorbed by the official “patriotic” church, which sits entirely in the government’s fold. This autonomous group of worshippers holds their services at one of their member’s homes, or in a simple conference room rented especially for the occasion.

The devotees elect their ministers – the members of the small “elders” committee charged with governing the church – and they are deeply dedicated to the life of their community. the rest

"With its 40 Biblical reading groups, choir, catechism, its faithful (typically members of the new bourgeoisie – professors, doctors, lawyers, students, and even Party members), Shouwang gains dozens of new converts each month. For the regime, it is the strongest symbol of the wave of religious conversion that has swept over the country of late. Urban, educated, disgusted by the “red” discourse served by the media, and fed up even with the cult of consumerism, the new, Christ-conscious Chinese upper class is on a moral collision course with a government that it perceives as soulless."

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