State And Church

The relationship between religion and ideology has always been very subtle and complex. After the establishment of PRC, Chinese Church entered another period of historical development. Chinese Church had launched a patriotic movement under the CPC’s leadership and established Chinese Patriotic Association.Then, Chinese Church gradually maintained the independence of local church. Following the Religious Faith Freedom Policy, Religious Departments of Shandong Province had investigated the organization of Shandong Church and did a great deal of work.Remarkably, the government’s consistent policy was to guide the Patriotic Movement at different stages, but there was no doubt that with the national policy of "left", the government management of the Church had become increasingly more severe. The way of Chinese Church members tried to become a real part of "people" was a very difficult journey in this condition. On one hand, some Christians and clergy made mistakes on political position, and confrontation was inevitable. On the other hand, it was also difficult for those believers that actively plunge into the patriotic movement to truly understand and agree with every phase of the new regime’s policies, therefore, it would not be easy to adapt the new framework that the new regime set. However, the Shandong Christian patriotic movement remained in the right direction, and the great achievements made in this historic campaign itself should not be underestimated.