GROWTH, CHANGE, CAUTION: CHRISTIANITY IN SHENYANG

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SHENYANG 000019 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/CM, INR E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: CH KS PGOV PHUM PINS SCUL SOCI SUBJECT: GROWTH, CHANGE, CAUTION: CHRISTIANITY IN SHENYANG SHENYANG 00000019 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: According to priests and expatriate residents active in the local Christian community, there have been few recent difficulties for registered churches, though churches remain cautious in their activities. The Protestant Church has seen rapid growth compared to the Roman Catholic Church, but the latter remains active in social services. Congregations in all denominations are becoming younger. House churches and registered churches rarely interact. Unofficial churches remain active in the city, with few reported difficulties in recent years. End Summary. Flocking To Church -------------- ¶2. (SBU) The number of Chinese joining Christian churches has increased rapidly in Shenyang. According to Pastor Jiang Zijin, head of Shenyang's largest Protestant Church, Dongguan Church, Shenyang now boasts 150,000 Protestants, a third of them living in the city proper. His church has added more than 10,000 worshippers during each of the last three years. Long-term-resident expatriates agree that the Christian Church has seen explosive growth. The crowds are so big that one local Christian Church now has two Chinese services every Sunday and multiple Korean-language services. The Chinese service PolOff attended was standing room only, and the pastor made use of PowerPoint. He told PolOff more than two thousand Chinese attend weekly. At a church in another district, PolOff saw hundreds of worshippers coming out of a Saturday service, and a congregant told PolOff there are more than 10,000 members of the church. By contrast, according to Fr. Joseph Zhang, a priest at Shenyang's main Catholic cathedral, his denomination is growing only slowly. Zhang reported there are about 100,000 Catholics in all of Liaoning Province. ¶3. (SBU) House churches continue to attract worshippers. One of our Christian locally employed staff (LES) estimates the number of Christians worshipping at unofficial services is at least equal to and is perhaps double the number attending official services. An expat with some knowledge of local house churches told PolOff of being at a meeting attended by more than two hundred leaders of unofficial churches. The LES said that congregants at the unofficial churches are a mix of young and old. ¶4. (SBU) Pastor Jiang reported that 60 percent of registered Protestant Churchgoers in Shenyang are elderly but that the newcomers tend to be younger followers. He now organizes special events for his college-aged and twenty-something congregants. At the service PolOff attended at the local Christian church discussed above, the congregation was predominantly female and a good quarter of the congregation was under thirty. Every Sunday afternoon the church hosts fellowship for younger congregants. According to Fr. Zhang, the Catholic Church has seen slow growth despite many new young members. These young congregants are replacing an older generation that has long been the majority of the Church. While the Protestant and Catholic churches are experiencing similar demographic trends, the rate of newcomers to the Protestant Church is exceeding its "replacement rate" by a much greater margin than is the Catholic Church. Church And State Relations Improving...Somewhat -------------- -- ¶5. (SBU) Fr. Jiang reiterated the oft-heard contention that as long as the Church does not threaten the government or stability and stays away from politics, it will be left alone. He revealed, for example, that government and Public Security Bureau (PSB) officers regularly worship in his church, though this is not publicized. A local expat pointed to a 10,000-person-strong fellowship event held last summer in Shenyang's suburbs, which went completely undisturbed, as further proof of a hands-off policy. Nonetheless, church leaders and members remain cautious. Pastor Jiang acknowledged there are red lines that he must avoid crossing and that these are subject to change. Expats in the Christian community said they must always be careful to avoid the appearance of proselytizing. ¶6. (SBU) One Amcit expat acknowledged she hears occasional stories of house churches being raided and people being detained, but she could not point to specific incidents or regions. According to our LES and a Korean expat here, house churches are careful to remain small--with no more than 50-60 people attending an individual service. If the church grows too big, it splits apart. It appears these churches are not open to foreigners so as to avoid attracting unwelcome SHENYANG 00000019 002.2 OF 002 attention from local authorities. Our Christian LES has not heard of any raids occurring for several years. ¶7. (SBU) While foreigners are allowed to attend Chinese Christian services, Chinese are not allowed to attend foreign services. Thus, at a recent weekly fellowship for foreigners, PolOff saw around 100 mostly African, Indian, and Pakistani attendees and no Chinese worshippers. Our Christian LES reported visiting this service once and was discouraged by the African pastor from attending again. (Note: Our LES believes foreigners may be more nervous about attracting attention from the government as they run the risk of being kicked out of the country. End Note.) At the Catholic Church, however, Chinese interested in the faith, in learning English, or in speaking with foreigners are able to attend the English-language Sunday service; most are university students. Despite laws prohibiting teaching of religion to anyone below 18 years of age, Pastor Jiang says his church now offers Sunday school classes to around 200 children of his congregants. Our LES reports other local Protestant churches doing the same. Official And Unofficial Churches Not Playing Together -------------- -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Conversations with local religious leaders suggest relations are good between churches of different faiths and denominations but that there is little interaction with non-registered "house churches." Fr. Jiang said he believes members of house churches look down on members of government-approved churches, seeing congregants at approved churches like his as having "less authentic" faith and being somehow co-opted by the government. The Amcit expats PolOff spoke with said house-church worship was the most common form of Christian fellowship five to ten years ago, but now they primarily worship in official churches. A Korean expat with knowledge of the house church community also worships primarily at official churches. (Note: It is possible the Korean expat is more connected to the unofficial churches because of the heavy Korean presence in and influence on the Christian community in the northeast. End Note.) Serving The Community...In More Ways Than One -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Fr. Zhang, also executive director of the Catholic Social Service Center (CSSC) of Liaoning Province, has coordinated a number of activities, including support for HIV/AIDS patients and education outreach, youth volunteer works, support for rural communities, and support for migrant workers. He receives little help from the government, though the Religious Affairs Bureau has recognized the quality of CSSC's work. He has also been prevented from registering CSSC as an NGO, and many of the center's social activities have to be done under other names to avoid the appearance of proselytizing. Pastor Jiang told PolOff that he has plans for engaging younger members of his congregation in community service, though he did not expand on these plans. ¶10. (SBU) The Korean expat said a group of wealthy businessmen in the house-church community have organized a charitable group, some of whose members recently visited a Shaanxi Province colony set up for people suffering from Hansen's disease (leprosy). One of the group members owns a popular Shenyang restaurant that, according to the expat, remained closed on Sundays when it first opened. Because of its popularity with government officials, however, the restaurant soon began staying open on Sundays. In the private rooms upstairs, one can enjoy a gospel performance from a trio of waiters -- the most friendly to be found in this district -- and the singing is followed by a brief lesson. Downstairs the owner sometimes distributes gifts bearing advice on how to live a happier life, and religious icons are sold openly. The expat believes that the owner maintains this level of freedom due to a combination of wealth and political connections. WICKMAN