House Church Movements and Religious Freedom in China

In: China: CIJ ; an international journal, Band 1, Heft 1, S. 16-45

Abstract

The Chinese government has implemented legislative sanctions to regulate religious activity by requiring all collective religious activities to be conducted at registered venues. This paper studies the "non-registered" Protestant house churches with reference to their historical roots and current sociopolitical context. The case study of a house church in Guangzhou identifies the facilitating and constraining factors in terms of its leadership, organisation, resources, recruitment strategies, negotiation strategies and future prospects. As a non-compromising but non-confronting religious movement, the church has enjoyed a high degree of autonomy and ample room for expansion, though it is under close surveillance by local authorities and without legal status.