The subject of this paper is the character and role of the Three-Self Church in China. It was understood that the socialism and the religion are incompatible in the Marxist theory so the socialist states like the Soviet Union attacked the religion-gro...
The subject of this paper is the character and role of the Three-Self Church in China. It was understood that the socialism and the religion are incompatible in the Marxist theory so the socialist states like the Soviet Union attacked the religion-group after the revolution. But the Three-Self Church was recognized officially by the political consentment between the state and the church from the beginning of the socialist system in China, and the church accepted the socialism line of the state actively and developed with the identity as a patriotic religion-group.
The theoretical base enabled the combined structure between the state and the church can be shown in Mao's contradiction theory, which deals with the dialectic combination of identity and conflict. Based on this conception, the strategy and political line for building the socialist China are compressed in the United Front, and the religion-policy of socialist China was operated as a chain of the United Front. In other words, despite the socialism and religion are fundamentally incompatible both can associated with in the wide-ranging dimension for socialist-construction. Consequently, the state carried out the policy of religious freedom within the principle and extent of the United Front, so the church could survive and develope institutionally. And the state required the church to accept the socialism system, follow the ideology and political line of the state.
Under this religion-policy, the common base which the state of China suggested for the dialectic combination between the state and church was 'the anti-imperialism and patriotism'. That is, the state of China asked the church to break off the relations with the western imperialist and to reform the structure in order to exist under the socialist system of China on the one hand, and demanded the church to participated positively in socialist-construction with all groups and organizations in China on the other hand. Under this situation, the church proclaimed to accept the requirement of the state and practice 'the anti-imperialism and patriotism' through the Three-Self Manifesto, and the church changed into the Three-Self Church which is under the control of the state through the process of the Three-Self movement. By this process and context, there were somewhat changes on theology thought of the former Chinese church so the Three-Self theology was formed, which was combined with socialism and transfigured by political intervention of the state. And in political and social circles, the church became to have the character mobilized into political, economical, and social campaign of the state and inclined strongly to the ideology of the state. On the basis of these characters, the Three-Self Church came to function as ideological instrument supporting the socialism regime and the line of the state politically and theologically.