| Three-Self Patriotic Movement | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | TSPM |
| Classification | Christian |
| Orientation | Protestant |
| Governance | National Committee |
| Chairperson | Fu Xianwei |
| Secretary General | Xu Xiaohong[1] |
| Associations | |
| Region | China |
| Founder | State Administration for Religious Affairs |
| Origin | 1954; 71 years ago (1954) |
| Absorbed | National Christian Council of China |
| Merged into | United Front Work Department of theCentral Committee of the Chinese Communist Party |
| Official website | www |
| Three-Self Patriotic Movement | |||||||||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 三自愛國運動 | ||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 三自爱国运动 | ||||||||||||||||
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TheThree-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM;Chinese:三自爱国运动;pinyin:Sānzì Àiguó Yùndòng) is the official government supervisory organ forProtestantism in thePeople's Republic of China. It is colloquially known as the Three-Self Church (Chinese:三自教会;pinyin:Sānzì Jiàohuì).[2]
The National Committee of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement of the Protestant Churches in China (Chinese:中国基督教三自爱国运动委员会;pinyin:Zhōngguó Jīdūjiào Sānzì Àiguó Yùndòng Wěiyuánhuì) and theChina Christian Council (CCC) are known in China as thelianghui (two organizations). Together, they form the state-sanctionedProtestant church inmainland China. They are overseen by theUnited Front Work Department (UFWD) of theCentral Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) following theState Administration for Religious Affairs' absorption into the UFWD in 2018.[3]
The three principles of self-governance, self-support (i.e., financial independence from foreigners), and self-propagation (i.e., indigenous missionary work) were first articulated byHenry Venn, General Secretary of theChurch Missionary Society from 1841 to 1873, andRufus Anderson, foreign secretary of theAmerican Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.[4][5] The "Nevius Method," named for John Livingstone Nevius, a missionary to China and Korea, developed the three-self principle of Venn and Anderson into a plan for establishing indigenous churches.[6][7]
By 1877 three-self principles were much discussed among missionaries to China.[8] The principles were drafted formally during an 1892 conference inShanghai of Christian missions reflecting an almost universal agreement that the future of the Chinese church depended on the indigenization of the leadership, and the finding of sufficiently Chinese modes ofworship.[9]
In May 1950,Y. T. Wu and other prominent Protestant leaders such asT. C. Chao,Chen Chonggui, andCora Deng met in Beijing with Chinese premierZhou Enlai to discuss Protestant Christianity's relationship with the youngPeople's Republic of China. "The Christian Manifesto" was published in July 1950 and its original title was "Direction of Endeavor for Chinese Christianity in the Construction of New China". During the 1950s, 400,000 Protestant Christians publicly endorsed and signed this document.[10]
The purpose of publishing this document was:[10]
to heighten our vigilance againstimperialism, to make known the clear political stand of Christians in New China, to hasten the building of a Chinese church whose affairs are managed by the Chinese themselves, and to indicate the responsibilities that should be taken up by Christians throughout the whole country in national reconstruction in New China.
It further stated the movement promoted the "self-governance, self-support, and self-propagation" (Chinese:自治、自养、自传;pinyin:zìzhì, zìyǎng, zìchuán) of the Chinese church.[10]
In March 1951, after China's entry into the Korean War, the Religious Affairs Bureau directed religious groups to make elimination of imperialist influences a priority. In mid-April the State Administrative Council called together a conference in Beijing on the subject of "Handling of Christian Organizations Receiving Subsidies from the United States of America". This conference led to the formation of the Preparatory Committee for the Oppose-America, Assist-Korea Three-Self Reform Movement of the Christian Church (TSRM) under China's United Work Front policy. Those who attended the conference issued a "United Declaration" calling churches and other Christian organizations “to thoroughly, permanently and completely sever all relationships with the American missions and all other missions, thus realizing self-government, self-support and self-propagation in the Chinese church."[11] The declaration had the unexpected effect of swelling the membership of congregations that identified themselves as “self-run.”[12]
When the TSPM was established in 1954, it promoted athree-self strategy in order to remove foreign influences from the Chinese churches and to assure the government that the churches would be patriotic to the newly established People's Republic of China.[13] Other Protestant leaders includedJia Yuming,Marcus Cheng,[14] andYang Shaotang.[15]
When "The Christian Manifesto" was published in thePeople's Daily in 1954, it pledged the support of Christians foranti-imperialism, anti-feudalism, and anti-bureaucratic capitalism efforts.[16] The movement, in the eyes of critics, allowed the government to infiltrate, subvert, and control much of organized Christianity.[17]
The work towards establishing the Protestant TSPM was seen to have potential also for Chinese Catholics to create a "three-self" (or, in English sources, often translated "three-autonomies") patriotic organization, even though this language was never used in earlier Catholic missiological discourse like it was by Protestant missionaries. Those who resisted were arrested or killed.[citation needed][clarification needed] But by 1957, some Chinese Catholics eventually established theChinese Catholic Patriotic Association.[18]
From 1966 to 1976 during theCultural Revolution, the expression of religious life in China was effectively banned, including the TSPM. The growth of theChinese house church movement during this period was a result of all Chinese Christian worship being driven underground for fear of persecution.[19] In 1979 the government officially restored the TSPM after thirteen years of non-existence,[17] and in 1980 theChina Christian Council (CCC) was formed. However, many Christians in China were skeptical of the government's intention in reinstituting the TSPM, partly because those entrusted in its local administration were often ones who had participated in repressive actions in the past.[20][21][22]
In 1980, the CCPCentral Committee approved a request by theUnited Front Work Department to create a national conference for religious groups.[23]: 126–127 The TSPM was one of five such religious groups, which also included theIslamic Association of China, theChinese Taoist Association, theCatholic Patriotic Association, and theBuddhist Association of China.[23]: 127
The TSPM is not a denomination, and denominational distinctions do not exist within the organization. Pastors are trained at one of thirteen officially sanctioned seminaries.[17] Current theological emphasis is on "a protection and promotion of the five basic tenets of Christian faith—theTrinity, Christ being both human and God, theVirgin Birth, Death and Resurrection and theSecond Coming."[24] The primary role of the TSPM was then delegated to liaison with the Government whereas the CCC serves as an ecclesial organization focusing on the internal management and affairs of the Church.[25][26]
Oversight of religion flows from recognition by the Chinese Communist Party of five religions: Buddhism, Catholicism, Taoism, Islam, and Protestantism, although the CCP's nearly 100 million members are required to beatheist. Authorities tightly monitor registered and unregistered religious groups,[27] and the TSPM is often charged with being an instrument for the secular Chinese government, which persecutes Christians outside of it. Independent congregations are known ashouse churches.[28] The attempt to bring house church Christians into the fold of "registered" meeting places has met with mixed results.[17] Since the ascension ofCCP general secretaryXi Jinping, the Chinese government has cracked down on house churches and oppressed their members, actions which the TSPM has supported.[29]
In 2018, the TSPM's parent organization, the State Administration for Religious Affairs, was absorbed into the CCP's United Front Work Department.[3]
In March 2019,Xu Xiaohong, the chairman of the National Three-Self Patriotic Movement Committee, gave a speech about the use of Christianity by western powers to destabilize China and theChinese Communist Party (CCP). In addition he stated in a speech at theChinese People's Political Consultative Conference that "Anti-China forces in the West are attempting to continue to influence the social stability of our country through Christianity, and even subvert the political power of our country".[30] He also called for continued state action against independent Christians stating "For individual black sheep who, under the banner of Christianity, participate in subverting national security, we firmly support the country to bring them to justice".[29]
TheChinese New Hymnal, first published in the 1980s, is the official hymnal of the TSPM churches. Editors includeLin Shengben, a renowned hymn composer inShanghai.[31]
TheCanaan Hymns hymnal associated with the house churches is also used in TSPM churches.[32] Through its official channels, TSPM has criticized the hymn for supposedly questioning the Movement's view of Christianity in service of Chinese socialism.[33] TSPM church services also feature non-Christian Communist Party songs.[30]
The main periodical of TSPM isTian Feng.[34]
The followingconfession of faith was adopted by the TSPM on 8 January 2008:[35]
The Chinese Church takes the contents of the entireBible, theApostles' Creed and theNicene Creed as the foundation of our faith, the main points of which are as follows:
Ours is aTriuneGod, everlasting and eternal.
God is Spirit. God is loving, just, holy, and trustworthy. God is almightyFather, the Lord who creates and sustains the cosmos and all that is in it, who keeps and cares for the whole world.
Jesus Christ is the onlySon of God, born of the Holy Spirit, the Word made flesh, wholly God and wholly human. He came into the world to save humankind, to witness to God the Father, to preach thegospel; he was crucified, died, and was buried. He rose again and ascended intoheaven. He will come again to judge the world.
TheHoly Spirit is the Comforter, who enables people to know their sinfulness and to repent, who bestows wisdom and ability and every grace, leading us to know God and to enter into the truth, enabling people to live holy lives, and to give beautiful witness to Christ.
Thechurch is the body of Christ and Christ is its Head. The church isapostolic, one, holy, and catholic. The visible church is called by God to be a fellowship of those who believe in Jesus Christ. It was established by the apostles as Jesus instructed them. The mission of the church is to preach the gospel, to administer theSacraments, to teach and nurture believers, to do good works, and to bear witness to the Lord. The church is both universal and particular. The Chinese Church must build itself up in love and be one in Christ.
The Bible has been revealed by God and written down by human beings through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The Bible is the highest authority in matters of faith and the standard of life for believers. Through the leading of the Holy Spirit, people in different times have gained new light in the Bible. The Bible should beinterpreted in accordance with the principle of rightly explaining the word of truth. It should not be interpreted arbitrarily or out of context.
Human beings are made in the image of God, but cannot become gods. God has given humanity dominion over all God's creation. Because of sin, human beings have diminished God's glory, yet through faith and the grace of Jesus Christ, human beings are redeemed and saved, and are granted resurrection and everlasting life.
Christ willcome again. According to the teachings of the Bible, no one knows the day of his coming, and any method to determine when Christ will come again violates the teachings of the Bible.
A Christian's faith and works are one. Christians must live out Christ in the world, glorifying God and benefiting people.
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