For Christianity, over the past two years, many major events had a profound impact on its own development, among which Donald Trump’s electoral defeat and the COVID-19 pandemic were undoubtedly the two most important ones, and their impact has continued to this day.
Trump's defeat has many effects. Yet, for Christianity, undoubtedly the decline of Christian conservatism and evangelicalism that he represents in society may be the major blow. This can be observed in the religious policies of his successor, Biden. Biden's interest in Christianity is clearly a far cry from Trump's. This is not because Biden is a Catholic rather than a Protestant evangelical, but for the reason that Trump's presidency was the result of a combination of forces in American society, not a single religion's vote that propelled him to the presidency.
The status of Christianity in the Biden administration shows that he will not make Christianity the core of his concerns. Biden probably cares more about broader American centrism, such as the economy. In the Sino-US competition, trade friction has become a topic, while Christianity has lost its place and attention in the past.
For some churches in China, from a certain perspective, this means that Christianity has lost a platform for internationalization, and international resources in both political and economic aspects.
The pandemic has an impact from a domestic perspective. This influence is not only negative for Christianity in China, but also for Christianity throughout the world as a whole. The fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic has two radical ramifications. One is the restriction of on-site gatherings, which leads to a decrease in the sense of identity and commitment. The other is the pressure of the economic downturn, which results in diminished funding to the Church.
Let's look back and reflect on the past year, applying addition and subtraction to list the footprints of Christianity in 2021.
Let's look at subtraction first.
1. The social influence of Christianity was declining.
2. The megachurch was shrinking.
The compression of physical space and the economic downturn had inevitably rendered the megachurch unable to maintain the scale and the influence of the past. This meant that it was also losing influence on the Chinese Church by manipulating teachings.
The decline of the big Church implied that the voice of Christianity in society might also weaken. It was basically the big Church that gave it a voice in the past. Therefore, it was possible that Christianity might start being silent for a long time.
3. The mobility of church members had increased, and the stability of the Church had weakened.
The economic downturn and online gatherings caused believers to have a lower sense of identity with the churches they were part of. Coupled with the income change that the economic downturn brought about, there would certainly be a change in the composition of believers, so the mobility of church believers would go up. This signified that the stability of the Church was gradually weakened and was constantly being reorganized.
4. The pastors' community was in decline.
The instability of the Church had changed the career trajectory of the pastors who had relied on the Church in the past, which not only entailed the dimming of their sacred halo but also suggested that their economic income had fallen sharply, bringing them the pressure of survival. Just like the dropping number of believers, preachers were also rapidly diverted. It might become a trend for them to change to secular professions.
Let's look at the addition now.
1. The small church had more space for activities.
In the past, the big Church dominated the doctrine and had the right to speak for orthodoxy, and the small Church had to be attached to the big Church. To date, as the big Church declined and its control became less powerful, the free space for the small Church began to expand, which helped to increase the vitality of the small Church.
2. The number of free believers began to increase.
A group of believers with ideas came out and began to seek their own path of faith and resources for growth. They were active in thinking, and occupied cyberspace to freely group, communicate and have heated discussions. They were no longer satisfied with the teachings and concepts of the traditional Church, and their versatile understanding of faith and the gospel was not in line with the Church anymore.
3. Free small groups grew in number.
Small groups of free believers who were equal members kept growing and are believed to become mainstream in the near future. Meanwhile, they were also the bearers of the new blood of Christianity henceforward. It was the belief framework they constructed that would provide us with new Christian blood and all-around thinking about faith.
Conclusion:
For the past year, and even for a foreseeable future, Christianity in China will be in a state of silence. However, just like the seeds that are being bred under the earth in the cold springtime, behind this silence, hope is slowly growing. And when the sun warms up, flowers will surely flourish.
- Translated by Shuya Wang
对于基督教来说，过去两年有很多大事件的发生对其自身发展有着深远影响，但是川普败选和新冠疫情，无疑是两件最重要的事情，其影响直到今天才都在持续。
川普败选尽管有很多影响，但对于基督教来说，无疑其所代表基督教保守主义和福音派在社会中的衰落，可能才是主要的。这从其继任者拜登的宗教政策可以看出。拜登对基督教的兴趣与川普相比，显然相差甚远。这不是因为拜登是个天主教徒而不是新教福音派信徒，而是因为川普的上台本身是美国社会各种力量的合力促成，而不是哪种单一宗教的选票把他推上总统宝座。
基督教在拜登政府中地位，意味着其不会将基督教作为自己关心的核心，其关心的可能是更宽泛的美国中心主义，比如经济。在中美竞争中，贸易摩擦已经成为主题，基督教失去了过去的地位和关注力。
对于中国的一些教会而言，这在一定角度上来看意味着基督教失去了国际化的平台，在政治和经济两个方面，都失去了国际资源。
而新冠疫情则从国内的角度带来影响。这种影响不仅对国内基督教，而对国际整个基督教而言，都是负面的。新冠疫情带来的后果有两个釜底抽薪式的影响。一个是现场聚会的限制，导致认同感和委身度降低；一个是经济下行的压力，导致的教会经济奉献减弱。
我们把眼光放回去，反思这过去一年，不妨用加减法，来列一列基督教的过去一年的足迹。
我们不妨先看看减法。
一、基督教的社会影响力在减小。
二、大教会在缩小。
物理空间的压缩，经济下行，带来的必然结果则是大教会根本没有能力维持过去那种规模和影响力。这意味着其通过操纵教义而影响中国教会的能力也在下降。
大教会的衰落，意味着社会上基督教的声音可能会也会随之衰弱，因为，过去基本是大教会发出声音。因此，基督教开始可能会沉寂一段很长的时间。
三、教会信徒的流动性增加，教会的稳定性减弱。
经济下行，线上聚会，意味着信徒对原来委身教会的认同感降低，加上经济下行带来的收入变化，必然会产生信徒的流动，那么教会信徒的流动性会增加。这意味着教会的稳定性逐渐减弱，并不断被重组。
四、传道人群体在衰落。
教会的不稳定性，改变了过去依赖于教会的传道人职业轨道，这不仅意味着其神圣光环的降低，还意味着他们经济收入的急速下滑，为他们带来生存的压力。与信徒的流逝一样，传道人也在迅速流失，改行务工，可能会成为潮流。
我们再来看看加法。
一、小教会活动空间增加。
过去大教会把持教义，拥有确定正统的话语权，小教会必须依附在大教会之下。现在随着大教会的衰落，其控制力的降低，小教会的自由空间开始增加，这有助于小教会的活力增加。
二、自由信徒个体开始增加。
一批有想法的信徒游离出来，开始自己寻找信仰的道路，自已寻找成长的资源。他们思想活跃，利用网络空间自由组合，自由交流和碰撞，不再满足于传统教会的教义观念，对信仰和福音的丰富理解也不再向教会看齐。
三、自由小团体增加。
由自由信徒组成的成员之间平等的小团体不断增加，相信会在不久的将来成为主流。而他们也正是将来基督教新鲜血液的承担者，正是他们建构的信仰架构，才能为我们提供新的基督教血液，以及对信仰的全方位思考。
结语：
过去一年，甚至未来很长一段时间，基督教都会处于沉寂的状态。但是，正如在春寒的大地之下，正孕育的种子一样，在这种沉寂的背后，希望正在慢慢成长，等到阳光回暖，必然会百花繁茂。
观察与思考| 过去一年（2021）基督教的加减法
For Christianity, over the past two years, many major events had a profound impact on its own development, among which Donald Trump’s electoral defeat and the COVID-19 pandemic were undoubtedly the two most important ones, and their impact has continued to this day.
Trump's defeat has many effects. Yet, for Christianity, undoubtedly the decline of Christian conservatism and evangelicalism that he represents in society may be the major blow. This can be observed in the religious policies of his successor, Biden. Biden's interest in Christianity is clearly a far cry from Trump's. This is not because Biden is a Catholic rather than a Protestant evangelical, but for the reason that Trump's presidency was the result of a combination of forces in American society, not a single religion's vote that propelled him to the presidency.
The status of Christianity in the Biden administration shows that he will not make Christianity the core of his concerns. Biden probably cares more about broader American centrism, such as the economy. In the Sino-US competition, trade friction has become a topic, while Christianity has lost its place and attention in the past.
For some churches in China, from a certain perspective, this means that Christianity has lost a platform for internationalization, and international resources in both political and economic aspects.
The pandemic has an impact from a domestic perspective. This influence is not only negative for Christianity in China, but also for Christianity throughout the world as a whole. The fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic has two radical ramifications. One is the restriction of on-site gatherings, which leads to a decrease in the sense of identity and commitment. The other is the pressure of the economic downturn, which results in diminished funding to the Church.
Let's look back and reflect on the past year, applying addition and subtraction to list the footprints of Christianity in 2021.
Let's look at subtraction first.
1. The social influence of Christianity was declining.
2. The megachurch was shrinking.
The compression of physical space and the economic downturn had inevitably rendered the megachurch unable to maintain the scale and the influence of the past. This meant that it was also losing influence on the Chinese Church by manipulating teachings.
The decline of the big Church implied that the voice of Christianity in society might also weaken. It was basically the big Church that gave it a voice in the past. Therefore, it was possible that Christianity might start being silent for a long time.
3. The mobility of church members had increased, and the stability of the Church had weakened.
The economic downturn and online gatherings caused believers to have a lower sense of identity with the churches they were part of. Coupled with the income change that the economic downturn brought about, there would certainly be a change in the composition of believers, so the mobility of church believers would go up. This signified that the stability of the Church was gradually weakened and was constantly being reorganized.
4. The pastors' community was in decline.
The instability of the Church had changed the career trajectory of the pastors who had relied on the Church in the past, which not only entailed the dimming of their sacred halo but also suggested that their economic income had fallen sharply, bringing them the pressure of survival. Just like the dropping number of believers, preachers were also rapidly diverted. It might become a trend for them to change to secular professions.
Let's look at the addition now.
1. The small church had more space for activities.
In the past, the big Church dominated the doctrine and had the right to speak for orthodoxy, and the small Church had to be attached to the big Church. To date, as the big Church declined and its control became less powerful, the free space for the small Church began to expand, which helped to increase the vitality of the small Church.
2. The number of free believers began to increase.
A group of believers with ideas came out and began to seek their own path of faith and resources for growth. They were active in thinking, and occupied cyberspace to freely group, communicate and have heated discussions. They were no longer satisfied with the teachings and concepts of the traditional Church, and their versatile understanding of faith and the gospel was not in line with the Church anymore.
3. Free small groups grew in number.
Small groups of free believers who were equal members kept growing and are believed to become mainstream in the near future. Meanwhile, they were also the bearers of the new blood of Christianity henceforward. It was the belief framework they constructed that would provide us with new Christian blood and all-around thinking about faith.
Conclusion:
For the past year, and even for a foreseeable future, Christianity in China will be in a state of silence. However, just like the seeds that are being bred under the earth in the cold springtime, behind this silence, hope is slowly growing. And when the sun warms up, flowers will surely flourish.
- Translated by Shuya Wang
Observations: Addition, Subtraction of Christianity in China in 2021
