Suchergebnisse

Explaining authoritarian containment -- Informal protestantism in China and local government toleration -- Why public security bureaus contain Protestant house churches -- Everyday forms of containment -- Containment and authoritarian regime resilience -- Containment across authoritarian landscapes

This paper focuses on one category of the 'unofficially sacred'-namely, those secular spaces which are used for worship and, in particular, residential spaces which are turned into 'house churches'. Using the case study of a house church in Singapore, the paper examines issues about the politics of religion in urban landscapes in a secular and simultaneously multireligious state. Contrary and in addition to current wisdoms about the politics of religious space, it is argued that various politics are observed: a politics of inclusion; a politics of hybridisation and in-betweenness; a politics of appropriation and nationalisation; and a politics of impermanence and precarity. Through this analysis, the paper seeks to bring added conceptual perspectives to the notion of 'sacred space' within the context of modern, urban, secular settings.

This paper focuses on one category of the 'unofficially sacred'-namely, those secular spaces which are used for worship and, in particular, residential spaces which are turned into 'house churches'. Using the case study of a house church in Singapore, the paper examines issues about the politics of religion in urban landscapes in a secular and simultaneously multireligious state. Contrary and in addition to current wisdoms about the politics of religious space, it is argued that various politics are observed: a politics of inclusion; a politics of hybridisation and in-betweenness; a politics of appropriation and nationalisation; and a politics of impermanence and precarity. Through this analysis, the paper seeks to bring added conceptual perspectives to the notion of 'sacred space' within the context of modern, urban, secular settings.

This article investigates the link between Christian belief and the fight for political change in today's China focusing on the activities of certain Beijing house churches. It formulates the hypothesis that Chinese Christian intellectuals may be able to fulfil a special 'bridge-function' in Chinese society. This hypothesis is tested against evidence based on a close reading of two Beijing house church publications (Aiyan and Fangzhou) and interviews with intellectuals closely associated with these as well as 'ordinary' Christian intellectuals. Areas investigated include education, urban-rural co-operation, the demographic make-up of congregations, the Christian understanding of liberalism, and the activities of Chinese Christian human rights attorneys. It comes to the conclusion that while Christian intellectuals have great potential to play an important role in China's process of democratization, their most prominent members continue the splittist tradition of previous dissident groups while the more meaningful work is undertaken by unknown Christians away from the spotlight. (J Contemp China/GIGA)

Contemporary church architecture in Hungary is one of the most monumental and representative architectural topics of the period after the political change; following forty years of communist dictatorship it became possible for congregations to freely raise new church buildings, asserting at the same time their social rights. It is remarkable that among the newly built churches the majority appear through the uniting of diverse functions such as congregation centres. The sacral church spaces of these architectural complexes are flexible and thus often extended with the community´s educational or other functional units used for non-sacral social gatherings, as a result the church may really become the home of a community. The article tries to encompass this phenomenon by analysing in the context of historical antecedents a typical contemporary Catholic and Protestant Hungarian church.

The progressive atmosphere surrounding Vatican II, with its emphasis on liturgical renewal and community participation, gave a boost to typological renewal in Roman Catholic church architecture. One popular new type was the so called 'house church'. Inspired by the early Christians who, to avoid prosecution, met in domestic settings, the house church paradigm became synonym with values such as simplicity, proximity, authenticity. In Belgium, the champion of this new church type was Marc Dessauvage (1931-1981). During his short career, he built a substantial body of churches and monastic buildings thanks to the active support from the Archbishopric Mechlin-Brussels and Frederic Debuyst, who extensively commented on Dessauvage's work in his widespread magazine Art d'Eglise. In retrospect, his work can be said to have made an important contribution to the renewal of church architecture, in the sense that it testifies to an active search for spiritual and social renewal in religious practice, involving clerics and laity alike. However, today, with church attendance reaching historically low figures in Belgium, many churches are becoming redundant. The question of their future use is a delicate topic that forms the subject of much debate within political, architectural and clerical circles. Whereas most historical church buildings are listed, or are at least recognized for their art historical or urban significance, this is not the case for the (non-monumental) post-war (house) churches. Despite their relatively young age, the lack of monumentality and clear sacral identity, the use of experimental (and often cheap) building materials and their often peripheral location pose a severe threat to this part of modern architectural heritage. Dessauvage's work offers a clear instance: in recent years, several of his churches have been converted, sold or clumsily restored. One church is even threatened with demolition at the moment of writing. Given the lack of preservation criteria enabling to discuss, let alone to take into account the particularities of the post-war religious patrimony, this paper proposes to develop a critical framework that goes beyond the single focus on the art/architectural historical value of church buildings. As it will be argued, the patrimonial value of the house churches of the 1960s, in particular, lies perhaps not primarily in their material qualities but in their communal and liturgical significance as spaces for spiritual and social encounter. Discussing the heritage qualities of such buildings thus necessarily raises the question of how to deal with the spatial and atmospheric qualities of their interior rather than their exterior appearance. The central question thus becomes: how can we preserve the (immaterial) ideals of hospitality and community building which constitute the innovative aspect of much post war church architecture? In line with the recent Council of the European Union's directives regarding the role of cultural heritage in creating and enhancing social capital, we therefore propose to investigate how Dessauvage's house churches can take up a broader social role that might safeguard their future.1 In doing so, we will build upon earlier research with regards to critical value assessment of 20th-century church buildings in Flanders, and archival research undertaken as part of an exhibition on Dessauvage's church buildings, currently under preparation. ; Peer Reviewed ; Award-winning