Sino-Christian theology ( or , literally meaning "Christian theology in the Chinese language") is a

theological Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

movement in

Mainland China "Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...

and

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

Definition

There are two generally recognized senses of the term Sino-Christian theology. In the broad sense, it belongs to the tradition of indigenous theology which stretches as early as the works during the time of the

Jesuit China missions The history of the missions of the Jesuits in China is part of the history of relations between China and the Western world. The missionary efforts and other work of the Society of Jesus, or Jesuits, between the 16th and 17th century played a si ...

, until the present day. However, these indigenizing efforts are often critiqued for a lacking in their assessments of traditional Chinese culture, particularly as found in

Confucianism Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...

. In the narrow sense of the term, Sino-Christian theology is associated with

cultural Christians Cultural Christians are nonreligious persons who adhere to Christian values and appreciate Christian culture. As such, these individuals usually identify themselves as culturally Christians, and are often seen by practicing believers as nomin ...

like Liu Xiaofeng and He Guanghu who have challenged the indigenizing approach and have proposed the greater need to articulate a critically reflective theology using the Chinese language. In recent years, it has been observed that there has perhaps been the growth of a younger generation of scholars in Sino-Christian theology. While the earlier generation included so-called "

" () who often used methodologies within the

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at the t ...

and

social sciences Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of soci ...

, the younger generation includes individuals who identify themselves as “Christian scholars” () with a greater commitment to the Christian faith and believe the use of the human sciences is inadequate for articulating Christian theology. Many have become elders and pastors in

urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

churches, and often gravitated towards

Calvinism Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Cal ...

as a means to offer a

public theology Public theology is the Christian engagement and dialogue within the church and especially with the larger society. It seeks the welfare of the state and a fair society for all by engaging issues of common interest to build the common good. This is ...

for the

Chinese Christian Christianity in China has been present since at least the 3rd century, and it has gained a significant amount of influence during the last 200 years. While Christianity may have existed in China before the 3rd century, evidence of its existe ...

church.

Theological themes

Much of the writings within this field have looked at Christian theology as a means to engage China, in its pursuit for

modernity Modernity, a topic in the humanities and social sciences, is both a historical period (the modern era) and the ensemble of particular socio-cultural norm (social), norms, attitudes and practices that arose in the wake of the Renaissancein the " ...

. Often, this has focused on comparing Western culture, shaped by

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

, with Chinese culture, shaped by

and

Daoism Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the ''Tao'' ...

. One areas of discussion has been around the Christian doctrine of

sin In a religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered immoral, selfish, s ...

. Liu Xiaofeng and

Zhuo Xinping Zhuo () is the Mandarin pinyin romanization of the Chinese surname written in Chinese character. It is romanized Cho in Wade–Giles, Cheuk or Cherk or Chak in Cantonese, and Toh or Tok in Teochew and Hokkien. Zhuo is listed 277th in the Song ...

, for instance, have described China as having a "culture of joy" whereas the West has a "culture of sin." In a post-

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...

context, they explain how the doctrine of original sin is useful in explaining the social ills that exist in contemporary Chinese society. Another area is with regards to

morality Morality () is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those that are distinguished as proper (right) and those that are improper (wrong). Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of cond ...

. Whereas Confucianism is often understood as fundamentally a system of ethics, some have written about how the Christian understanding of morality has been shaped by the two commands of loving God and loving neighbor. Yang Huilin has gone as far as to compare Auschwitz with the

, and speak of how the Christian virtues of love and forgiveness may benefit the Chinese context.

Notes

References

External links

Institute of Sino-Christian Studies
Christianity in China Religion in Hong Kong Christian theology

Definition

Theological themes

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links