Scholarly Panels
Contributions from academics drawing on the method and resources of their respective disciplines.
Panels / topics proposed to date:
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Sino-Vatican Relations in Historical Perspective
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Sociological Perspectives on Christianity
in Contemporary China -
The Sinicisation of Religion in China Today
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Environmental Issues and the Faith Communities of China
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suggestions for panels and topics
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suggestions concerning speakers (including yourself)
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submission of brief abstracts
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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:
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Faith and the Current Generation
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Social Services: Making a Contribution in China Society
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The American University Context
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Relations among Christians and China
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Paths to Discipleship
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Religion in the City
Click this button for a form to enter:
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suggestions for workshops or presentations
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suggestions concerning speakers (including yourself)
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other suggestions or feedback
Note: Presenters will have their conference registration fees waived in appreciation for their service to the gathering.
Where Are the Churches in China?And Why? Geographical Patterns of Church Development
Time & Location
June 16, 2022
Berkeley, CA or On-line
About the Event
In Hong Kong beginning in March 2019, yet another movement gained momentum, this time to protest a bill that would allow extradition of suspects to jurisdictions with which Hong Kong did not have an extradition agreement, including Mainland China. The U.S. media portrayed this unrest from an angle that lionized young people on a tiny island enclave struggling against an overbearing Goliath. However, on the ground, the perspectives were more nuanced. Within the Christian community, opinions varied regarding how far to take the protests, and how much support churches should lend. The divisions left a lasting mark.
Sociologist Lida Nedilsky, who has followed the involvement of Catholics and Protestants in Hong Kong’s civic life of throughout her career, lends insightful perspective regarding the contributions of Hong Kong Christians to the territory’s civic culture, the impact this involvement has had on the churches, and the unfolding implications of the current crackdown pursued by Beijing.
About Lida Nedilsky:
Lida V. Nedilsky is a Professor of Sociology at North Park University. Her research interests focus on China, particularly how religious people in Hong Kong get engaged in political issues. Dr. Nedilsky is the author of Converts to Civil Society: Christianity and Political Culture in Contemporary Hong Kong (Baylor 2014) and contributor to Shun-hing Chan and Jonathan W. Johnson's Citizens of Two Kingdoms: Civil Society and Christian Religion in Greater China (Brill 2021). She also serves on the Academic Advisory Board of Tripod, a publication of the Holy Spirit Study Centre of the Diocese of Hong Kong.
Further Resources:
Converts to Civil Society: Christianity and Political Culture in Contemporary Hong Kong
by Lida V. Nedilsky, Ph.D.
Lida V. Nedilsky captures the public ramifications of a personal, Christian faith at the time of Hong Kong’s pivotal political turmoil. From 1997 to 2008, in the much-anticipated reintegration of Hong Kong into Chinese sovereignty, she conducted detailed interviews of more than fifty Hong Kong people and then followed their daily lives, documenting their involvement at the intersection of church and state.