TY - JOUR
T1 - Changing Church-State Relations in Contemporary China
T2 - The Case of the Fengxiang Diocese
AU - Chan, Shun-hing
N1 - Funding Information:
This article is based on a research project entitled “Changing Church and State Relations in Contemporary China: A Case Study of the Catholic Church.” The project was funded by the Research Grants Council of the Universities Grants Committee, Hong Kong (ref. HKBU 2430/06H). An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 2010 Annual Conference of the Hong Kong Sociological Association. The author thanks Anthony S.K. Lam and Mary Julia Child for their helpful critiques of the earlier draft but claims full responsibility for the analyses and interpretations presented herein.
Funding Information:
The competition between the open and underground churches, the mediating role of the Vatican, and the pragmatism of the government are three key factors contributing to the church–state relations in mainland China (Chan and Lam 2002). The open and underground churches compete for legitimacy through the recognition of bishops by the Vatican and, by extension, its support of their priests and the Catholic laity. If the conflict between the open and underground churches continues, the tension will consume the energy of the church and weaken the power of the bishop and the priests to withstand the control of the government.
PY - 2012/1/1
Y1 - 2012/1/1
N2 - This study examines the dynamics of church-state relations in contemporary China by analyzing the case of the Catholic Diocese of Fengxiang in Shaanxi province. The article seeks to identify the salient patterns of church-state relations in the Fengxiang diocese and the social factors that contribute to the formation of such patterns. I argue that the three key factors contributing to church-state relations in Fengxiang are the absence of competition between the open and the underground church, the mediating role of the Vatican, and the pragmatism of the government. The absence of competition enables the priests to concentrate their power on countering the government control. The priests embrace papal leadership and resist the establishment of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association in the diocese. The government officials negotiate with the priests and offer them legal status. The church-state model presented by the Diocese of Fengxiang can be called "cooperative resistance." The resistance of the priests helps to preserve the autonomy of the church and to maintain a limited degree of religious freedom in the diocese.
AB - This study examines the dynamics of church-state relations in contemporary China by analyzing the case of the Catholic Diocese of Fengxiang in Shaanxi province. The article seeks to identify the salient patterns of church-state relations in the Fengxiang diocese and the social factors that contribute to the formation of such patterns. I argue that the three key factors contributing to church-state relations in Fengxiang are the absence of competition between the open and the underground church, the mediating role of the Vatican, and the pragmatism of the government. The absence of competition enables the priests to concentrate their power on countering the government control. The priests embrace papal leadership and resist the establishment of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association in the diocese. The government officials negotiate with the priests and offer them legal status. The church-state model presented by the Diocese of Fengxiang can be called "cooperative resistance." The resistance of the priests helps to preserve the autonomy of the church and to maintain a limited degree of religious freedom in the diocese.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84877353241&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.2753/CSA2162-0555450204
DO - 10.2753/CSA2162-0555450204
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:84877353241
SN - 2162-0555
VL - 45
SP - 65
EP - 77
JO - Chinese Sociological Review
JF - Chinese Sociological Review
IS - 2
ER -