Over the past year, the Chinese government has ramped up its campaign to “sinicize religion,” — to make it more compatible with both traditional and modern socialist values. In reality, it is a move to re-establish Party-state control over the religious sector, Christianity included. Last month I had the opportunity to co-author an article at […]
Religious Faith in China
As readers of this blog will know, I’m always on the lookout for a new book that will find its place onto my current “must read” list. And while I have yet to actually read Evan Osnos’ new book “Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth, and Faith in the New China” (it was released just yesterday […]
Is China Happy?
Last week the New York Review of Books published an article called China’s Way of Happiness, by Ian Johnson. The article is an interview of Dr. Richard Madsen, a scholar on religion in China, about his research on happiness in China. Here are some interesting excerpts from Madsen’s comments. On the subject of his next […]
Nothing is As it Seems
In order to understand China today, it’s helpful to understand this simple rule: nothing is as it seems. In fact, I would say this rule applies when observing and analyzing nearly all segments of life in China: politics, economy, social relationships, and even religion. To put it another way, whatever China seems to be at […]
