Surviving the State, Remaking the Church

How have Chinese Christians coped with life under a hostile regime for many years, while Christian churches have been reshaped by ripples of social change?

A reception and author interview will celebrate the release of Surviving the State, Remaking the Church by Henry Institute Senior Research Fellow Li (Mary) Ma, co-authored with Jin Li. The reception begins at 3:30 and the interview will start at 4:00 p.m.

Ma and Li's book examines how Chinese Christians have remained religiously faithful in the face of hostile regimes over a span of different historical periods, and how Christian churches as collective entities have been influenced by ongoing social impacts and adaptations. China's change from a centrally planned economy to a market economy, or from an agrarian society to an urbanizing society, are significant phenomena worthy of scholarly attention; however, real changes are about values and beliefs that give rise to social structures over time. The growth of Christianity has become interwoven with the disintegration or emergence of Chinese cultural beliefs, political ideologies, and commercial values.

Location details

3233 Burton St., SE Grand Rapids, MI 49546