Scholarly Panels
Contributions from academics drawing on the method and resources of their respective disciplines.
Panels / topics proposed to date:
-
Sino-Vatican Relations in Historical Perspective
-
Sociological Perspectives on Christianity
in Contemporary China -
The Sinicisation of Religion in China Today
-
Environmental Issues and the Faith Communities of China
Click this button for a form to enter:
-
suggestions for panels and topics
-
suggestions concerning speakers (including yourself)
-
submission of brief abstracts
-
other suggestions or feedback
Note: Panel organizers (only) will have conference registration fees waived in appreciation for their service to the gathering.
Presentations and
workshops
Discussion forums and practical advice from people involved in the life of the Church in China and in the Chinese diaspora.
Practical workshops and presentations requested to date:
-
Faith and the Current Generation
-
Social Services: Making a Contribution in China Society
-
The American University Context
-
Relations among Christians and China
-
Paths to Discipleship
-
Religion in the City
Click this button for a form to enter:
-
suggestions for workshops or presentations
-
suggestions concerning speakers (including yourself)
-
other suggestions or feedback
Note: Presenters will have their conference registration fees waived in appreciation for their service to the gathering.
The Board and Officers of the China Association very much appreciate the willingness of various keynote speakers to share their views and expertise with us.
At the same time, we make clear that the views are not our own. In fact, we deliberately invite people with a range of views to speak, so long as they speak in good faith and in a spirit of mutual respect.
Anthony E. Clark, Ph.D., FRHistS, FRAS
Whitworth University
Anthony E. Clark 柯學斌 is the Edward B. Lindaman Endowed Chair at Whitworth University, the Distinguished Combe Trust Fellow at the University of Edinburgh, and an elected Fellow of both the Royal Historical Society and the Royal Asiatic Society. He is regarded as one of the most influential scholars of China’s Catholic culture and history, and he has published dozens of books, articles, and reviews related to China’s long exchange with Christianity.
“Keeping the Hill Green: China’s Hopeful Catholic Future”
Sunday, August 4, 2024
Beginning with the hallowed Chinese adage, “Keeping the hill green, one need not worry about running out of firewood,” 留得青山在，不怕沒柴燒 this talk shall address the hopeful dialogue between China and the Holy See. From Matteo Ricci 利瑪竇 (1552-1610) until Pope Francis in our own time, the ideals of exchange and dialogue have defined China’s long history of faith and friendship. In his 2018 letter to China, Pope Francis wrote: “encounter can be authentic and fruitful only if it occurs through the practice of dialogue.” In Clark’s closing remarks, he shall consider both the trials and triumphs that mark China’s long Christian history.
Bishop Paul Junmin Pei
Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Liaoning, China
From 1985 to 1990, Bishop Paul Junmin Pei studied at Shenyang Catholic Theological Seminary (St. Thomas Seminary). In May 1992, he was ordained to the priesthood. From July 1993 to May 1996, he studied at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia, USA. In May 2006, he was ordained as the coadjutor bishop of the Liaoning Diocese. In June 2008, he took over as the ordinary bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Liaoning. He is currently Vice President of the Bishops’ Conference of the Catholic Church in China, Director of the Overseas Exchange Committee, and Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Liaoning.
“Challenges and Opportunities of the Catholic Church in China”
Sunday, August 4, 2024
Bishop Pei will begin with an overview of Catholicism in Liaoning. He will share his observation and analysis of issues encountered by the Catholic Church in China. These problems include the ongoing formation of clergy and those practicing consecrated life, shortage of vocations for clergy and consecrated persons, conversation and inheritance of faith among Catholic families, and pastoral care of urban churches under the wave of migration out of rural towns. He will further discuss the idea of “Christianization” in the absence of “Catholic tradition”. Finally, he will reflect on the cooperation and exchanges between Catholic churches in China and the United States.
Naomi Thurston, Ph.D.
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Naomi Thurston teaches and researches the history of Christianity in China and contemporary Chinese Christianities at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Her recent research traces the theological reception of the German Reformed theologian Jürgen Moltmann in Chinese scholarship. She has translated the writings of contemporary Chinese scholars and introduced the emerging discourse of “Sino- Christian studies” in Chinese academic discourse today. She is the sole author of the book Studying Christianity in China: Constructions of an Emerging Discourse (Brill, 2018) and co-editor with Jason Lam a recent book on Moltmann and China: Theological Encounters from Hong Kong to Beijing (Brill, 2023). Dr. Thurston received her PhD from University of Wales Trinity Saint David.
“Echoes of Hope: Chinese-Christian Debates in Republican and Post-Reform-Era China”
Friday, August 2, 2024
Over the past hundred years, Christian communities in China have been forging their identities through challenging but ultimately fruitful negotiations with language, governance, culture, and the prevailing ideologies of the day. Republican China in particular saw intense debates regarding the place of Christianity in Chinese society. Many of the themes of national soul searching are echoed in Chinese academic scholarship and theology today. This talk traces theological continuities between Republican-era and contemporary Chinese thinkers whose ideas articulate a Christian hope in the contexts of Chinese intellectual architectures and lived Christianities.
Fr. Augustine Tsang, S.J. (曾慶導神父)
Fu Jen Faculty of Theology of Saint Robert Bellarmine, Taiwan
Father Augustine Tsang (曾慶導神父) was born in Guangzhou, China. After graduating from high school in Hong Kong, he immigrated to the U.S. and received his higher education there. He holds a master’s degree in biology and a Doctoral Degree in Sacred Theology from the Weston Jesuit School of Theology in Boston. He joined the Society of Jesus in Los Angeles and was ordained in the Cathedral of San Francisco on June 11, 1994. He has been teaching at Fu Jen Faculty of Theology of Saint Robert Bellarmine in Taiwan since 2001, a member of the International Association of Jesuit Universities, Asia-Pacific region.