The Political Influence of the Protestant Churches in Hong Kong

This research project seeks to examine the political influence of the Protestant churches in Hong Kong. Specifically, this research will use Paul Djupe and Christopher Gilbert’s theory of religious influence on political behavior to investigate how the social context of the Protestant churches facilitates the development of socioreligious subcultures inside and outside formal church structures, and how the membership in these subculture units opens up organizational channels that build social networks and transmit political information, leading to enhanced rates of political participation. The subject of study is the 23 member churches/ denominations of the Hong Kong Christian Council, in which include 262 churches in Hong Kong. This study will use both survey and interview as research methods for a full test of the effects of the Protestant churches on the political behavior of their members. The research findings will provide a clearer understanding of the contributions of the Protestant churches to sustaining civil society in Hong Kong. The theoretical significance of this research project is that, it will explicate a theory of church-centered influences on political behavior based on contextual analysis, which will advance the study of religion and politics in Hong Kong. Regarding the practical significance, it will provide a specified model of how voluntary associations expose individuals to political information and norms, which will help us to understand how public opinion is formed and why people participate in politics.