Xishiku Church in Beijing’s Xicheng District (CFP) 

The famed commercial street of Wangfujing in downtown Beijing buzzed with throngs of shoppers on an October morning last year. But not everyone spent the weekend in the grip of consumerism.

Inside the weather-beaten walls of Wangfujing Catholic Church, also known as Eastern Church, located on the same street, hundreds of Catholics sat in pews beneath a magnificent dome attending Sunday mass. The congregation in the church, first established in 1655, was a mix of middle-aged and senior Chinese and foreigners, with a scattering of youth.

A priest, dressed in white and green robes, preached the Christian gospel in English, with his key words displayed on TV screens mounted on the columns beside the pews. After sermons, prayers and hymns, the mass concluded with baptized Catholics queuing for communion wafers from the priest.

Masses like these, some in English, French or Latin, but mostly in Chinese, are held on Sunday in churches across Beijing.

Trend 

On the other side of the city, Liang Yuping arrived at Gangwashi Church in Xicheng District to attend mass. The main hall was full, so she waited for the next service.

The priest's sermon was also broadcast live on a large screen in a separate room beside the main hall. The seats in the room were all occupied so some people stood at the back, watching the screen.

The Protestant church, tucked away in a quiet hutong alleyway neighborhood, hosts three mass services on Sunday morning and another in the evening. Church data show that more than 5,000 worshipers attend the Sunday masses there on a regular basis.

Gangwashi Church was originally established in 1863 by the London Missionary Society, but the current main church building was constructed in 1922. The church was expanded in 1996 to accommodate increasing number of churchgoers.

Liang, who is in her mid-50s, converted to Christianity in 2009, shortly after her retirement as a telephone operator, she told Beijing Review.

She said unlike others her age that prefer dancing and other exercise, she enjoys the time of introspection that the church provides.

"Being a Christian does not mean that I live a Western lifestyle, such as eating Western food and wearing Western attire, I just feel my heart is at peace," said Liang, who often goes to church along with her son and daughter-in-law.

Also waiting for the next mass was a slender, bespectacled young man. He told Beijing Review that he was from Wenzhou, a well-off city in east China's Zhejiang Province. He said that he converted to Christianity after his college classmates took him church.

When the mass began, the hall filled up rapidly. The priest, Zhang Jinxing, gave a sermon on how to build faith on a solid foundation, which was punctuated by hymns from a youthful choir. As in the Eastern Church, the majority of the congregation was seniors, while women made up most of those middle-aged or younger.

Not every Christian in Beijing attends Sunday mass in church. Eighty-four-year-old Li Yi, a volunteer cleaner in a park in Haidian District reads the Bible on her own. She told Beijing Review that she converted to Christianity about 20 years ago in her hometown in Heilongjiang Province, northeast China.

Li said that 20 years ago she was illiterate and it was Bible study that helped teach her to read.

She moved to Beijing to join her son about 10 years ago. She said that she no longer attends church services due to her advanced years, and instead prayed at home or with a small group in her neighborhood. She believes her faith has given her a positive mindset and prompted her to help her community.

Religious freedom 

The history of Christianity in China dates back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907) after which the religion entered a hiatus; it was then reintroduced and took root in China during the period of Western imperialist invasion in the 19th century, said Yang Guiping, a professor with the School of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Minzu University of China.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, a Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM) was initiated by the churches, which advocated "self-governance, self-support, and self-propagation."

During the "cultural revolution" (1966-76), there was a ban on religious activities, which drove religion underground. In 1979, the government lifted its ban on TSPM.

"Since the end of the 'cultural revolution,' all religions have flourished in China, with Christianity growing the fastest," said Yang.

Data from the State Administration for Religious Affairs (SARA) show that currently, the country has more than 23 million Christians, and 56,000 churches and congregation venues. The growth is clearly apparent compared to the 1940s, when there were more than 3 million Catholics and 700,000 Protestants in the country, according to SARA.

A report on religion published by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in 2010 said that since 1996 the number of Christians in China has almost tripled.

Yang attributed the surge in religions in general to the government's protection of religious freedom and profound social changes arising from the shift from a planned to market economy.

"The development of a market economy has led to changes in social structure, and people's values have become more diversified," she said. Rapid social changes have increased uncertainties and created more psychological pressure for people, causing bewilderment and anxiety to some.

"Ethical standards compatible with the planned economy have seemed to become outdated, while new ones suiting a market economy will take a relatively long time to get widely accepted," she said.

Under such circumstances, religion has become a new belief for some people, Yang said during a lecture given in Beijing on November 8, 2016.

While explaining the rising number of Christians in China, Mou Zhongjian, a retired professor of Minzu University of China specializing in religious studies, said the reform and opening-up policy has changed many people's negative view of Christianity, and they have come to accept it as part of Western civilization.

He pointed out that Protestant churches expanded faster in China than Catholic churches because the former has more simplified rituals and tend to hold charity activities, offering help to people in need.

Other dynamics 

There are also other dynamics involved in this religious growth. Some Chinese worshipers choose their faith out of practical reasons rather than a careful study of their creeds, said Mou.

The 2010 report of the CASS on religion is based on the largest scale household religion survey since 1949 and is seen as the most authoritative official study to date. It shows that 68.8 percent of the 23 million Christians embraced religion because either they or their family members got ill and 15 percent followed family tradition into the faith.

The survey also showed that 54.6 percent of Christians in China had not received middle school education, and only 2.6 percent have received two-year or more college education; while 70 percent of all worshipers were women.

In recent years, the number of young, middle-aged and urban believers is rising, said Yang.

The government attaches great importance to religious affairs. During a national work conference on religion held in April 2016, President Xi Jinping pointed out that religious affairs are of special importance in the work of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Central Government.

He said that "We must adhere to the CPC's basic principle regarding religious work, implement the Party's policy toward religious freedom and manage religious affairs in line with the law. We must adhere to the principle of religious independence and self-administration, and help religions adapt to a socialist society."

"As long as the believers of a religion are patriotic, law-abiding and kind to others, then religion has a legitimate reason to exist in China," said Yang.

Copyedited by Francisco Little 

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