The present situation of Chinese Christians in the United States The congregations of the Chinese Christian church
The Chinese Christian church in the United States often has ethnic characteristics, but different Chinese churches often have special concentration in the composition of the congregation, which reflects the tide of Chinese immigrants in different stages. For example, descendants of early immigrants from southern China usually have their fixed church. International students from the mainland of China have the church which they set up together. And other "informal immigrants" also formed Christian organizations. According to Aihui Lee, she divides American Chinese Christianity into four categories.
The first category is the
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Because of historical and political reasons, mainland China wasn’t open until the late 80 s. Therefor, these international students whom from mainland China mostly were atheists.
Besides, I'm not implying that these people are hostile to immigrants from Hong Kong and Taiwan, but in the decades since the founding of new China, the culture and habits of the mainland Chinese are indeed different from those from Hong Kong and Taiwan. Whether it is based on the cultural background of members of the church or in the age of establishment, it makes sense to separate this two kinds of churches.
The three churches mentioned above are mainly using Chinese and Cantonese. The last kind of Chinese Christianity mentioned in lee's article was founded by ABCs, and they mainly use English in the church. Their members are not only Chinese but also other Asian.
The language of the American Chinese Christian church
The U.S.A. has been a zone of language extinction in which immigrant tongues die out to be replaced by monolingual English. (Rubén G. Rumbaut and Douglas S. Massey, 2013) People came to the United States from all over the world, and as generations grew, they developed to use English, no matter where they came from. Well, except Chinese. I once met these two elderly citizens in La Crosse's farmer's market, the descendants of the earliest southern Chinese immigrants, who still use their 'Chinese' to greet me. Although I don't know their "Chinese" but
The process by which Scripture has been preserved and compiled is one whose history is worth noting. The early church had many opportunities to share the Good News of Christ via word of mouth, but from the time of Christ’s resurrection until the mid-second century, there had not been a single culmination of writings considered to be essential for the purposes of
Even up to the year 2016, several hundred years after Christian missionaries and Japanese Christian converts had been persecuted in Japan (日本), there resides a complete total of under one percent of Christians living within Japan, which possesses a population 126,354,292 people. It is quite a different story in China (中国) however. The amount of Christians present in current day China is somewhere between two to three percent of the whole population, which reaches 1,381,537,308 people. China’s Christian population is also developing much more rapidly that Japan’s Christian population. Why is this the case exactly?
The region of China is extensive and profound. “In China lay people did not belong to an institutionalized sect, nor did their religious life have anything to do with signing articles of faint. Religion in China was so woven into the broad fabric of family and social life that there was not even a special word for it until modern times, when one was coined to match the Western term” (Thompson, 1). In China, Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism are all blended. In the earliest period, Shang Dynasty (2000 BC), people in China had worshipped a lot of different gods (polytheism) such as weather god, river god. People in the Shang Dynasty believed that their ancestors become like gods after they died, so people worshipped their
The main Chinese religions have many key features. The main religions include shamanism/ancestor reverence, Confucianism, Daoism, Mahayana Buddhism, and idol worship. These 5 religions share some features in common. For example, Chinese popular religion focuses on the human being’s pursuit of health, wealth, and happiness in their lives (quote the textbook). Chinese popular religions want the human to be doing well and succeeding in their day-to-day activities of their lives. Another key component of the main Chinese religions is respecting one’s elders. The religions teach the importance of obeying the commands of the elders and honoring the family name. The Chinese allow place a strong emphasis on the temple. The temple is a place where the people could communicate, understand, and learn about their gods (quote the textbook). The next subsections will be describing the key religious practices of each of the 5 Chinese religions.
Now, even though each of these denominations call themselves Christians, their beliefs about the Christian “kingdom” are different. Some of the differences include Catholics, who believe that you must confess your sins to the priest, even though the Bible, the same bible that all Christians read out of, in the book
The Chinese were more orientated to a communitarian philosophy provided by the literali teaching. For the Chinese that would ask the question there was Buddhism.
The first interview I conducted was with a friend, James, on campus in the Student union while we ate sloppy joes. Between bites of food he explained his faith and perspectives to me. James is Chinese, his father immigrated in the 1970’s and his mother is a second
Another way that Chinese Americans preserve their identities is through their weddings. The traditional Chinese wedding procedures are known as the “Three Letters and Six Etiquettes.” Chinese American weddings in America do not really follow all of the old traditions, but there are still aspects that are preserved. Large engagement parties are still held, at which the traditional roast pig is served. Also, at many Chinese American weddings, the traditional tea ceremony is still performed. This is where the bride and groom offer cups of sweet tea to their families, and are offered envelopes with money or jewelry in them in
Base on the census information, Queens and Brooklyn hold the most Chinese population in New York City. Over 70% of the populations are family households; 20% are under 17 years old and over 10% are over 65. Obviously, community church model is best fitting to serve these Chinese families. Between Queens and Brooklyn, there are few major universities in Queens and Long Island. Thus, it is easier to reach out college students in Queens. However, there are more low-income new immigrants residing in Brooklyn because of the less expensive housing comparing to Queens. It is easier to reach out to the grass-roots level there. For the younger and second generation of the Chinese immigrants’ families, they like to move to Long Island to get more space.
By The Middle Ages, one understands a relatively long historical period extending from the end of the Roman Empire to the 1500's. The conquest of The Roman Empire by Germanic tribes, and synthesis of Germanic and Roman ways of life formed the civilization which we call medieval (medieval-from Latin words; medium (middle) and aevum (age)). Medieval civilization was greatly influenced by the Muslims in Spain and The Middle East, and by Byzantine Empire and Christians in Southeast Europe.
Over the past years of my life I have seen many changes, some for the good and others not as good. Change can be demanding and also crucial. The early believers would encounter this. One can see that significant change happened, when reading through the gospels and the book of acts it is obvious to the reader that the believers who followed Jesus would never be the same again.
Although these are three distinct religions, they are all a representation of Chinese culture. In this sense:
Chinese families are highly misunderstood and stereotyped in the United States. It is important to understand a different culture before one makes the assumptions produced by these stereotypes. In order to find a better understanding about Chinese immigrants and Chinese Americans, one must do research on that countries heritage, traditions, and other customs before submerging one-self into a Chinese families home. I chose to experience and observe a Chinese family who was kind enough to let me be a guest in their home to share dinner.
Christianity is the religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Most followers of Christianity, called Christians, are members of one of three major groups--Roman Catholic, Protestant, or Eastern Orthodox. These groups have different beliefs about Jesus and His teachings. But all consider Jesus central to their religion. Most Christians believe God sent Jesus into the world as the Savior. Christianity teaches that humanity can achieve salvation through Jesus.
In his hardback titled The Church: Contours of Christian Theology, Edmund P. Clowney writes a systematic presentation about concerning the doctrine of the church. In chapter eight of his book, he describes the Marks of the Church. Clowney writes about the marks of a true church of Christ, which include the true preaching of the Word of God; the proper observation of the sacraments; and the faithful exercise of church discipline.