House Church Movements and Religious Freedom in China

Abstract

The Chinese government has implemented legislative sanctions to regulate religious activity by requiring all collective religious activities to be conducted at registered venues. This paper studies the "non-registered" Protestant house churches with reference to their historical roots and current sociopolitical context. The case study of a house church in Guangzhou identifies the facilitating and constraining factors in terms of its leadership, organisation, resources, recruitment strategies, negotiation strategies and future prospects. As a non-compromising but non-confronting religious movement, the church has enjoyed a high degree of autonomy and ample room for expansion, though it is under close surveillance by local authorities and without legal status.