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Christianity among Transnational Chinese: Religious versus (Sub)ethnic Affiliation
Author(s) -
Nagata Judith
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
international migration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.681
H-Index - 64
eISSN - 1468-2435
pISSN - 0020-7985
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-2435.2005.00327.x
Subject(s) - china , evangelism , ethnic group , diaspora , christianity , gender studies , sociology , indonesian , identity (music) , multiculturalism , immigration , political science , religious studies , law , anthropology , aesthetics , philosophy , linguistics
The approximately 5 per cent of the diaspora Chinese who are Christian are faced with the question as to whether religious or sectarian affiliation takes priority over Chinese unity or sub‐Chinese identity. For many, the solution is to form (sub)ethnic congregations, and the issue is how far and how fast they (especially younger members) should “assimilate” linguistically and socially to Anglo‐Canadian or other local styles in the host country. One response is the formation of a pan‐Chinese transnational Christian organization, the Chinese Coordination Centre for World Evangelism (CCCOWE), whose mission attempts to unite Chinese of all subethnicities, reach Chinese in remote areas, control and manage existing congregations everywhere, and resist local assimilation. Although claiming to represent all Chinese, in fact, CCCOWE began as a Cantonese‐medium movement in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China (hereinafter Hong Kong), but is now coming to terms with Chinese Christians from other parts of Asia, as well as with the inevitable localization/anglicization of congregations. Some churches refuse to associate with CCCOWE for dislike of Hong Kong, others due to preference for their own language (Indonesian), or birth place (Malaysia/Singapore). Thus, in some cases, subethnicity is subordinated to religious (Christian) identity across the world, in others, to a pan‐Chinese religious membership, while for many, religion continues to follow subethnic lines, variously defined by language or birth place.