Abstract
This article explores the evolution of female religious life within the Catholic Church in China today. Through ethnographic observation, it establishes a spectrum of practices between two main traditions, namely the antique beatas and the modern missionary congregations. The article argues that Chinese nuns create forms of religious life that are quite distinct from more universal Catholic standards: their congregations are always diocesan and involved in multiple forms of apostolate. Despite the little attention they receive, Chinese nuns demonstrate how Chinese Catholics are creative in their appropriation of Christian traditions and their response to social and economic changes.
Highlights
Surveys from 2015 suggest that in the People’s Republic of China, there are 3170 Catholic religious women who belong to 87 registered religious congregations, while 1400 women belong to 37 unregistered ones
Our study suggests that despite a whole range of efforts and a strong desire to belong to the universal Catholic Church, Chinese nuns do not follow the standardized Catholic forms of religious life that encourages a collective pursuit of a unique ‘charism’4 either within apostolic or contemplative congregations
The study of contemporary Chinese nuns reveals that their religious commitment evolves through various forms of apostolate inspired by distinctive Catholic models of religious life
Summary
The historical roots of female religious life in Catholic China have been the subject of recent studies and interpretations (Lutz 2010; Leung and Wittberg 2004; Menegon 2009; Entenmann 1996; Kang 2013). Non-Christians may name them xiunü (修女), nun, or add a xiao (小), little, prior to their family name These variations suggest that while these nuns are identified within their local community, the broader Church still struggles to foster a standardized and national label to recognize them and their service. The English term virgin tends to reduce these women and their current apostolate to what they do not do (marriage and sexual life), downplaying the broad reality of what they do and sidelining the fact that some of these women have been married at some point of their life To address this difficulty of naming and to echo contemporary practices and local traditions, the present article uses three terms to refer to this religious life: nuns, beatas, and consecrated virgins. The article presents similarities and dissimilarities with other Fujianese consecrated virgins to better portray what entails this Chinese Catholic model of the beatas today
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