Ecological Theology as Public Theology: A Chinese Perspective

Abstract

Abstract The ecological discourses in China include the government’s political propaganda and the voices based on the traditional Chinese culture, especially Confucianism, Buddhism and Daoism. Furthermore, there are also public discourses on ecological issues from the environmental scientists and/or activists, who may adhere to neither the political party line nor any traditional Chinese religious/philosophical perspectives. As such, when Chinese Christians attempt to address ecological issues, they have to respond to these divergent voices in the public sphere. This article reviews the Chinese Christian ecological discourses from the perspective of a public theology. It will examine whether, and how, they respond to the non-Christian voices, and analyze how they exhibit different approaches to public theology. It will further explore whether, and how, Chinese Christian ecological discourses could benefit from Christian discourses in other contexts, and may in return contribute to the global development of an ecological theology as a public discourse.