1. The Problem and Its Significance
The 1982 Chinese government resolution On Certain Historical Issues of the Party Since the Founding of the People's Republic stated that the hastily launched "Great Leap Forward" in 1958 was marked by "high targets, blind command, exaggeration, and the 'communization movement,'" which led to a severe proliferation of leftist errors. During 1958-1962, nearly everyone in Communist China was involved in continuous political campaigns and intensified labor.
On the Christian front, after 1949, a significant number of Chinese Christians sought to legitimize their faith within the Chinese sociopolitical framework through the well-known "decolonization movement", Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM), which aimed to dispel the “colonial” label attached to Christianity. In 1958, mirroring the centralization trend in the “Great Leap Forward,” a campaign known as “the Unification of Worship” suddenly became a central task for regional TSPM committees. During this movement, churches were shut down, denominations were abolished, and denominational institutions were swiftly absorbed into regional TSPM.
As a result of this campaign in the late 1950s, nearly 90% of churches were closed. However, when examining church distribution in Mainland China in 2004, the number of churches remained almost the same as after “the Unification of Worship,” despite long-standing claims that religious policies following the Cultural Revolution had restored religious sites. A scholar argues that the re-establishment of Christianity in China largely followed the distribution pattern set during “the Unification of Worship” (Ying Fuk-tsang, 2015). This suggests that the historical decisions made in 1958 have had lasting effects on Chinese Christianity, even though most of the policies enacted that year were officially deemed “leftist errors” in the 1982 resolution.
2. Research Questions
Given the context above, several key questions arise.
Under the national planning framework, were there differences in church closures across various types and levels of cities? And were there differences in church closures with different denominations? Why was it decided to reduce the number of churches to just 10% of their previous total? Why was this number and church distribution deemed sufficient by decision-makers? I plan to answer the first two questions and validate Ying’s theory about the lasting effects of “the Unification of Worship” through a quantitative study. I also look forward to addressing the remaining two questions after completing the quantitative analysis.
3. Methodology
Most previous academic studies on “the Unification of Worship” have focused on national policies and the broader landscape of Christianity in China, rarely providing quantitative analyses of changes in individual cities (Phillip L. Wickeri, 1988; Ying Fuk-tsang, 2015 and 2023; Duan Qi, 2019; Zhang Hua, 2019). Meanwhile, some scholars examining regional Christian history have touched upon “the Unification of Worship” at the local level, including studies on Beijing (Gao Shining, 2005), Wenzhou (She He, 2015), Ningbo (Wu Lingyun, 2017), and Shijiazhuang (Liu Haitao, 2016).
This study relies on a large collection of local gazetteers (地方志) published primarily in the 1990s in Mainland China. These gazetteers, compiled at the county level, provide basic historical accounts of Christianity, including denominational presence and church numbers in local areas. Many of them document the number of churches before and after “the Unification of Worship” in 1958, with some even listing the addresses of all churches before the campaign. These quantitative records make this research feasible.
Although the People's Republic of China promotes national unity, different cities and counties receive varying levels of governmental attention. In this study, I will examine church closures across cities with diverse backgrounds. In the 1950s, Chinese cities were officially classified into three categories: directly administered municipalities, provincial capitals, and other cities.
Ideally, all 176 officially recognized cities in 1958 would be included in this analysis. However, due to the availability of published gazetteers, I estimate that at least 20 cities will provide effective data. By considering the official importance of these cities, I will analyze variations in church closures and interpret the findings within their historical and policy contexts.
Additionally, denominational differences may offer further insights. By comparing the number of churches lost across different denominations, I aim to uncover how various Christian traditions were affected by national religious policies.
For some cities where church addresses before “the Unification of Worship” are available, Geographic Information System (GIS) analysis will be employed to visualize changes in local religious spaces. GIS allows for multi-layered analysis, making it possible to examine church density relative to population distribution. By integrating church density with demographic data, regression models can be built to predict church distribution in 2004 based on population and believer density. The predicted distribution will then be compared with official statistics from 2004 to assess patterns of continuity or change.
4. Research Expectations
Based on my previous qualitative investigations, several hypotheses can be made for this quantitative study.
Firstly, directly administered municipalities are expected to have experienced the largest number of church closures due to their higher initial church counts and stricter government oversight in the 1950s. Provincial capitals likely saw a relatively lower percentage of church closures. Other cities, particularly smaller ones with fewer than ten churches before 1958, may have been reduced to just one remaining church.
Secondly, Anglican churches and other historically significant denominations were more likely to be preserved. This was probably not due to church-state relations but rather because of the architectural and historical value of their buildings. Pentecostal churches and those led by charismatic figures were more likely to be closed, as they were less favored by religious policies of the time. Their buildings were also more easily repurposed for socialist movements, given their lack of architectural prominence. Ironicly, the architecture features were not count on "colonialism."
Thirdly, GIS analysis may reveal that the 2004 church distribution closely mirrors that of 1958， which shows the "Great Leap Forward" legacy in Christianity in China. However, due to population growth, the number of churches in 2004 may be insufficient to meet the religious needs of the increased population.
Note: the English above has been polished by ChatGpt OpenAI.
In 1958, a campaign known as the "Unification of Worship" echo to the “Great Leap Forward”, abruptly became a central task for regional Three-Self Patriotic Movement committees committees. During this movement, churches were closed, denominations were abolished, and the organizational functions of denominational institutions were swiftly absorbed by regional Three-Self Patriotic Movement committees, which was regarded as a way of "decolonization." During this campaign, nearly 90% of churches were removed. This study seeks to provide a comprehensive quantitative assessment of “the Unification of Worship” across different city types and denominational backgrounds, and evaluate its long-term impact on Chinese Christianity, offering new insights into the relationship between religious policy and church distribution.