Twelfth International Conference on Religion & Spirituality in Society

Abstract

Religious freedom is always one of the concerns of Hong Kong religious communities, particularly Christianity. The issue is more acute after the protest in 2019 because the Chinese government accuses churches and the Christian schools of supporting the protest one way or another. In order to constraint the influence and development of Christianity, the Chinese government attempts to shape public opinion on Christianity as a colonial religion and empire, and on the other hand, to raise the status of the traditional Chinese religions because they are used to comply with the government. This study uses the method of discourse analysis to examine how and what the Chinese government shapes public opinion on Christianity and its possible effects. Since the Chinese government adopts the united front strategy to “unite and divide” people as well as religions, it is a challenge for churches not to fall into its trap deepening “enemies-friends” mentality. This study attempts to explore and discuss the plasticity of churches in defending religious equality, religious freedom and human dignity at the institution, congregation and Christian NGO level.