Christianity and Community Governance in Modern China

Methodological Reflections on the Study of Chinese Christianities

“…The same pattern of cross-cultural interaction can be seen in the Ming and Qing dynasties (A.D. 1368-1911) when European missionaries arrived. Because of the state's persecution during the eighteenth century, the Catholic communities went underground, escaped the direct control of European Catholic missionaries, and developed into a localized network of family cells in coastal and inland provinces (Lee and Laamann 2019). Thus, without a strict surveillance of missionaries, Chinese Catholics had much autonomy to integrate popular religious traditions into their faith practices.…”