When interacting with church leaders in China, questions about the church inevitably emerge. At some point, issues concerning church structure will be brought up. How they respond will deeply affect the long term growth of the church. It is both exciting and agonizing to observe.
The ratio of men to women in the churches of China is about 1:2. Sometimes the ratio is even more skewed: as much as one man for every three to five women. This article explores the wide range of issues these gender inequalities create within the church.
The concept of four mainstream occupations or four types of people is deedly rooted in traditional Chinese culture: gentlemen (shi), farmers (nong), artisans (gong), and merchants (shang). Some see these as the cornerstones of a state or nation. This tradional background is still indirectly influencing the way men directly view religious occupations, in indirectly the church. And, yet, although women are within the same mainstream workforce and societal group as men, their attitude towards subcultures, including Christianity, may be different. This may be a factor contibuting to the gender imbalance.
Daniel A. Bell, China's New Confucianism: Politics and Everyday Life in a Changing Society. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2008. ISBN 978-0-691-13690-5; hardcover; 340 pages, including two appendices, notes, and bibliography.
Reviewed by G. Wright Doyle
As believers we can be a force for change while fulfilling our responsibility to Gods creation.This is one man's story.
ChinaSource asked for responses to Tom Jenning's article "A Holistic Perspective on Transforming Nations." The following, by Huo Shui, is the second of two responses that were given. Mike Barbalas responded in "Responses, Part 1."
ChinaSource asked for responses to Tom Jenning's article "A Holistic Perspective on Transforming Nations." The following, by Mike Barbalas, is the first of two responses that were given. Huo Shui responded in "Responses, Part 2."
What factors are influencing the survival of NGOs in China?
What needs to happen if nations are to be impacted leading to transformation?
From the editor's desk.
A discussion of the need for a social enterprise to be focused on sustainability in order to be effective.
There are numerous challenges that could derail China's march to super-power status including a collapse of the banking system, regional disintegration, environmental disaster, and military miscalculations. However, perhaps the most likely factor to prevent China's rise will be the one the government can least do anything about: demography. China, as always, has too many people; now, however, it is also lacking in females, youth, and sooner rather than later, a workforce to support its retired population.