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Christian growth stagnated in China, says survey

Between 2010 and 2018, the share of Chinese adults who formally identify with Christianity remained stable at about 2%
Chinese tourists take pictures in front of the Sacred Heart Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in Guangzhou, in Guangdong province on September 22, 2018

Chinese tourists take pictures in front of the Sacred Heart Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in Guangzhou, in Guangdong province on September 22, 2018. (Photo: Johannes EISELE/AFP)

Published: December 15, 2023 11:37 AM GMT
Updated: December 15, 2023 12:16 PM GMT

The Christian population in China appears to have stopped growing after rising rapidly in the 1980s and 1990s, presumably because many hide their Christian identity to avoid persecution in the communist-ruled nation, according to a new study.

Available data from the Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) shows that between 2010 and 2018, the share of Chinese adults who formally identify with Christianity remained stable at about two percent, US-based Pew Research Center said in an analysis on Dec. 12.

With 1.4 billion people, China officially has 28 million Christians.

Roughly 90 percent of Christians in China are Protestant, it noted.  

China banned religion during the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s. However, the restrictions were lifted in the 1980s.

Government figures showed that the Christian population rose from 6 million in 1982 to 14 million in 1997, an exceptional growth compared to a 22 percent rise in the national population at that time, the report said.

In 2010, there were 23 million Protestants in China, official data showed.

Researchers say even with a conservative estimate there are about 40 million Christians in China today.

There was also reported growth in the number of Christians worshipping in “underground” or “house” churches, which are not registered with the state-sanctioned Catholic and Protestant associations (the Catholic Patriotic Association and the Three-Self Patriotic Movement).

Unregistered religious groups including Christian house churches have faced an intensified crackdown in China since Xi Jinping became the president and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) adopted a series of repressive laws to curb and discourage religious activities, rights groups say.  

Earlier, some journalists, scholars and Christian advocacy groups have suggested that Christianity in China continues to grow rapidly in the 21st century and that Christians are on track to make up a majority of the population there by 2050.

However, the latest CGSS data shows Christian population has leveled off.

The CGSS survey, conducted in 2021 amid the Covid-19 pandemic, did not hint at a revival of Christianity as only one percent of those surveyed identified themselves as Christians, Pew analysis said.

This is in stark contrast to a reported increase in religiosity in China during the pandemic.

The 2021 survey data is not directly comparable to earlier waves because COVID-19 outbreaks in some regions of China made it impossible to achieve the same coverage as in pre-pandemic waves, the analysis explained.

More Chinese adults share some Christian beliefs than identify with the faith in surveys.

In the 2018 China Family Panel Studies survey, for instance, three percent of respondents reported exclusively believing in the Christian God, the analysis said.

An additional four percent said they believe in the Christian God and at least one other non-Christian deity.

More broadly, all survey-based estimates of China’s Christian population could be conservative, the analysis said.

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