Christianity in China
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The Lord’s Prayer in Classical Chinese.
Christianity in China is a growing minority
religion that comprises Protestants (called ??
? Jī dū jiào, or Christ Religion), Catholics (???
Tian zhu jiao, or Lord of Heaven Religion),
and a small number of Orthodox Christians.
Although its lineage in China is not as an-
cient as beliefs such as Confucianism, Tao-
ism, or Mahayana Buddhism, Christianity has
existed in China since at least the seventh
century and has gained influence over the
past 200 years.[1] The growth of the faith has
been particularly significant since the loosen-
ing of restrictions on religion by the People’s
Republic since the 1970s. Religious practices
are still often tightly controlled by govern-
ment authorities. Chinese over age 18 in the
PRC are permitted to be involved with
Missionary preaching in China using The
Wordless Book
officially
sanctioned Christian meetings
through
the
"China Christian Council",
"Three-Self Patriotic Movement" or
the
"Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association".[2]
Many Chinese Christians also meet in "unre-
gistered" house church meetings. Reports of
sporadic persecution against such Christians
in Mainland China have caused concern
among outside observers[3].
Development
Christianity existed in China during several
different historical periods.
Christianity was introduced to China per-
haps as early as the third century. Its intro-
duction by missionaries of
the Assyrian
Church of the East in the third to the fifth
centuries, is considered by some to be the
first entry of the Christian religion into Ch-
ina. Manicheanism, a now extinct religion
that also treated Jesus as a figure of devotion
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Christianity in China
1
was present in China from as early as the
third century.
During the Tang dynasty, missionaries
from the Assyrian Church of the East,
(formerly referr