Calvinism as a Chinese Contextual Theology

Abstract

The history of Protestant missions to China has included every major Presbyterian, Congregational, and Reformed denomination entering Chinese lands as early as the seventeenth century. However, the lasting forms of Chinese Protestantism that existed after the end of the Cultural Revolution (1966–76) were much more informed by the evangelical faith mission tradition than any denominational tradition. Yet observers of Protestantism in mainland China have noted the rapid embrace of Calvinist Christianity since the 1990s. Tracing these developments across two major strata of Chinese society, this chapter shows how socio-political factors since 1989 have resulted in the growth of Calvinism as a Chinese contextual theology.