China opens door to Christianity - of a patriotic sort

The official Protestant church numbers about 20 million, whereas the unofficial or underground home churches are estimated between 30 and 50 million.

Mr. Aikman suggests also a rise of interest among party officials and bureaucrats. Some home church members report a new genre of stories from believers in the party who are unsure how to handle their faith. One mid-level party member, feeling pangs of conscience while serving in a party that eschews religious belief, asked her boss if she should "confess her sin" and resign. Her boss told her, "No, believe what you want. You are a good worker. Just stay."

A number of prominent entertainers and musicians in China also are starting to claim faith. The actress Lu Ling Ping, who plays the wife on a famous soap opera "Passionate Years," is openly Christian. So is Zheng Jun, a pop star, whose CD liner notes contain thanks to God.

"The new situation in the party-state recognizes that religion and Christianity are gaining momentum with the globalization of China, including the WTO accession," says Nicholas Becquelin, of the Hong Kong branch of Human Rights in China. "Having recognized this and drawn a lesson from history - the attempt to stamp out religion in the Mao era - the main message is that the state will give more space to worship in exchange for guarantees of political loyalty."

Partly for this reason, systematic crackdowns also still take place. Last month, two unofficial church leaders in Hangzhou were arrested. Liu Fenggang and Xu Yonghai, a church historian and a church organizer long associated with evangelicalism, were charged with disclosing state secrets. In China, the charge is an expansive and vague one. Sources including Mr. Xu's wife say the two had reported to foreign groups the evidence of a systematic destruction of home churches in their east coast city. Four other well-known underground church leaders were arrested in Henan, a hotbed of evangelical faith, in January.

Some sources argue that given the numbers beginning to worship, the new open policy on churches represents an attempt to "co-opt" the growth; one source argues that the technique of official acceptance is designed to temper the fervor of evangelicals, which has been shown to thrive when it is suppressed.

Policy toward Christians differs dramatically between regions, and even counties. Henan Province and the city of Wenzhou are often described as the Bethlehem and the Jerusalem of China, respectively - and are often the scene of vigorous, though peaceful, clashes over worship.

At the same time, several home church sources and other witnesses report new instances of loosening that have not been seen in recent years: Recently in Shanghai, one of the least accepting cities, authorities allowed an open youth meeting of evangelicals. In another major city, overseas Chinese ministers were invited to speak at home churches, and despite the knowledge of local police, were allowed to come.

Since its creation following the communist revolution, the Chinese state church has not accepted foreign influence - funding, exchanges, authority. Theologically, the church defined itself with a patriotic, socialist gospel vision whose purpose was to "serve the people." However, it was deeply resented by evangelicals who felt the official church was a status quo faith.

Currently, with Beijing allowing the building of new churches, a debate is under way over which group, the official or unofficial church, kept the faith alive. Says Yao: "What's not so important to us is a building. We feel that church is in our hearts; we worship in spirit and in truth."

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