Freedom of religious belief is guaranteed under the constitution of the People’s Republic of China; but the degree to which this freedom is able to be exercised remains a highly controversial issue. Much scholarly attention has been given to persecuted underground groups such as Falun; but one area that remains largely unexplored is the relationship between officially registered churches and the communist government. This study investigates the history of one such official church; Moore Memorial Church in Shanghai. This church was founded by American Methodist missionaries. By the time of the 1949 revolution; it was the largest Protestant church in East Asia; running seven day a week programs. As a case study of one individual church; operating from an historical (rather than theological) perspective; this study examines the experience of people at this church against the backdrop of the turbulent politics of the Mao and Deng eras. It asks and seeks to answer questions such as: were the people at the church pleased to see the foreign missionaries leave? Were people forced to sign the so-called “Christian manifesto� Once the church doors were closed in 1966; did worshipers go underground? Why was this particular church especially chosen to be the first re-opened in Shanghai in 1979? What explanations are there for its phenomenal growth since then? A considerable proportion of the data for this study is drawn from Chinese language sources; including interviews; personal correspondence; statistics; internal church documents and archives; many of which have never previously been published or accessed by foreign researchers. The main focus of this study is on the period from 1949 to 1989; a period in which the church experienced many ups and downs; restrictions and limitations. The Mao era; in particular; remains one of the least understood and seldom written about periods in the history of Christianity in China. This study therefore makes a significant contribution to our evolving understanding of the delicate balancing act between compromise; co-operation and compliance that categorizes church-state relations in modern China.
#538726 in Books University of South Carolina Press 2011-03-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.02 x .51 x 5.98l; .71 #File Name: 1611170109208 pages
Review
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. "Sons Of Privilege" is a compelling readBy Andrew J. GuestWhen I first learned of Sons of Privilege: The Charleston Light Dragoons in the Civil War; it sounded mildly interesting but I didn't buy it.A few months later; I bought a copy and found myself glued to it until finished. It's an interesting; compelling story that is presented fairly and in a straightforward manner; with neither sarcasm nor glorification of the Charleston Light Dragoons; who enjoyed a privileged existence within the Confederate Army for most of the war.It's very well done.0 of 4 people found the following review helpful. okay bookBy nom de plumetells the story of some pampered sons of the south who wanted to play soldier and that is all that they did - play5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. A Military and Social EliteBy William J. LongEric Emerson has taken an in-depth look at a fascinating Confederate unit. The Charleston Light Dragoons were pedigreed men on thoroughbred horses; drawn from Charleston's aristocracy and assigned to a low-intensity theater on the South Carolina coast for most of the war - until thrown into the meatgrinder in northern Virginia in 1864.Emerson has done a tremendous amount of research and puts it to excellent use giving the reader a fine sense of the world these men lived in. It should be stressed that the CLD's were an anomalous unit; their ranks were so exclusive that men resigned officers' commissions in other units to serve as ordinary enlisted Dragoons; while others served briefly in the Dragoons as a stepping-stone to prestige in other units - a resume-builder; as it were. Emerson demonstrates very well the "privileged" status the title refers to; in the men's flauting of military discipline and natural assumption of social superiority even over fellow Confederate cavalry.He does not; however; denigrate the noblesse-oblige which was the flip side of that privilege; and faithfully chronicles the valiant service the "Drags" would put in when faced with the horrors of late-war campaigns. It would be hard to assert the War was not a "Rich Man's Fight" as well; after any honest look at their battlefield performance and the "butcher's bill" they paid.If this book has a flaw - and you do have to hunt to find one - it is perhaps in an emphasis on "class" which occasionally protests a bit too much. The lax discipline of the "Drags" as a prewar militia unit which behaves more like a college fraternity; is a case in point; while the anecdotes are amusing and instructive; they hardly prove that OTHER militia units drawn from lower classes took their peacetime drills much more seriously. The Dragoons were doubtless drinking more expensive beverages; but they were hardly unique in letting drills degenerate into revelry.However; Emerson DOES certainly demonstrate the unique status of the Charleston Light Dragoons in other ways; and has done a great service in chronicling the service and adding depth to the interpretation of a socially AND militarily fascinating Confederate unit.
