Anti-Christian Movement Research Articles

The Anti-Christian Movement in China

T HE anti-Christian movement in China may be divided into four stages: (i) 1919-22, the period of incubation; (2) 1922-24, the period of propagation; (3) 1924-25, the period of direct action; (4) 1925, the period of consolidation and expansion. The period of incubation of any movement is usually a long one and reaches back into the remote past. Many trends and influences have contributed to the anti-Christian attitudes of the Chinese. The growth of national feeling in China, the spread of the spirit of new learning, the support which Christianity gave to the warring countries, the attitude of indifference of the Peace Conference to the problems of the Far East and of China, the lack of recognition by the League of Nations given to China, the example of soviet Russia and of Turkey, and last but not least the influence of Chinese returned students from Russia and France-all of these have added to the rising tide of hostility to the Christian