The Protestant community and the Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong

Abstract

This paper examines Protestants’ participation in the Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong through Richard Wood's theory of faith-based community organizing. Protestants were an integral proportion of the protesters in the movement. Despite many church leaders expressing reservations and opposition, the Protestant community displayed a high degree of participation in the Umbrella Movement, far exceeding any previous collective action. The author argues that the Protestant's participation can be explained by the theory of faith-based community organizing, in which organizers of action groups used biblical stories, ideas, images, and symbols to create meaning and to build an internal political culture, leading to the Protestants’ spectacular involvement in and commitment to the Umbrella Movement.