Lida V. Nedilsky - Converts to Civil Society: Christianity and Political Culture in Contemporary Hong Kong

Converts to Civil Society: Christianity and Political Culture in Contemporary Hong Kong — read online for free the complete book (whole text) full work

Below is the text of the book, divided by pages. System saving the place of the last page read, allows you to conveniently read the book "Converts to Civil Society: Christianity and Political Culture in Contemporary Hong Kong" online for free, without having to search again every time where you left off. Put a bookmark, and you can go to the page where you finished reading at any time.

Light

Font size:

↓

↑

Georgia Tahoma Arial Verdana

Reset

Interval:

↓

↑

Bookmark:

Make

1234567...57

The Nagel Institute for the Study of World Christianity Calvin College

Joel A. Carpenter
Series Editor

OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIES
The Making of Korean Christianity
Sung-Deuk Oak

Converts to Civil Society

Christianity and Political Culture
in Contemporary Hong Kong

Lida V. Nedilsky

BAYLOR UNIVERSITY PRESS

2014 by Baylor University Press

Waco, Texas 76798-7363

All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission in writing of Baylor University Press.

Cover Design by Natalya Balnova

Cover Image: Rally at Star Ferry Pier, Tsim Sha Tsui. Photograph by Lida V. Nedilsky, 1998.

eISBN: 978-1-4813-0270-8 (Mobi/Kindle)

eISBN: 978-1-4813-0271-5 (ePub)

This E-book was converted from the original source file by a third-party vendor. Readers who encounter any issues with formatting, text, linking, or readability are encouraged to notify the publisher at . Some font characters may not display on all e-readers.

To inquire about permission to use selections from this text, please contact Baylor University Press, One Bear Place, #97363, Waco, Texas 76798.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Nedilsky, Lida V.
Converts to civil society : Christianity and political culture in contemporary Hong Kong / Lida V. Nedilsky.
239 pages cm. (Studies in world christianity)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4813-0032-2 (hardback : alk. paper)
1. ChristianityChinaHong Kong. 2. Christianity and politics ChinaHong Kong. 3. Religion and civil societyChinaHong Kong. 4. Civil societyChinaHong Kong. I. Title.
BR1295.H6N43 2014
261.7095125dc23

2013045457

Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper with a minimum of 30% post-consumer waste recycled content.

For Mykola, Orest, and James

Series Foreword

I t used to be that those of us from the global North who study world Christianity had to work hard to make the case for its relevance. Why should thoughtful people learn more about Christianity in places far away from Europe and North America? The Christian religion, many have heard by now, has more than 60 percent of its adherents living outside of Europe and North America. It has become a hugely multicultural faith, expressed in more languages than any other religion. Even so, the implications of this major new reality have not sunk in. Studies of world Christianity might seem to be just another obscure specialty niche for which the academy is infamous, rather like an ethnic foods corner in an American grocery store.

Yet the entire social marketplace, both in North America and Europe, is rapidly changing. The world is undergoing the greatest transregional migration in its history, as people from Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Pacific region become the neighbors down the street, across Europe and North America. The majority of these new immigrants are Christians. Within the United States, one now can find virtually every form of Christianity from around the world. Here in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where I live and work, we have Sudanese Anglicans, Adventists from the Dominican Republic, Vietnamese Catholics, Burmese Baptists, Mexican Pentecostals, and Lebanese Orthodox Christiansto name a few of the Christian traditions and movements now present.

Christian leaders and institutions struggle to catch up with these new realities. The selection of a Latin American pope in 2013 was in some respects the culmination of decades of readjustment in the Roman Catholic Church. Here in Grand Rapids, the receptionist for the Catholic bishop answers the telephone first in Spanish. The worldwide Anglican communion is being fractured over controversies concerning sexual morality and biblical authority. Other churches in worldwide fellowships and alliances are treading more carefully as new leaders come forward and challenge northern assumptions, both liberal and conservative.

Until very recently, however, the academic and intellectual world has paid little heed to this seismic shift in Christianitys location, vitality, and expression. Too often, as scholars try to catch up to these changes, says the renowned historian Andrew Walls, they are still operating with pre-Columbian maps of these realities.

This series is designed to respond to that problem by making available some of the coordinates needed for a new intellectual cartography. Broad-scope narratives about world Christianity are being published, and they help to revise the more massive misconceptions. Yet much of the most exciting work in this field is going on closer to the action. Dozens of dissertations and journal articles are appearing every year, but their stories are too good and their implications are too important to be reserved for specialists only. So we offer this series to make some of the most interesting and seminal studies more accessible, both to academics and to the thoughtful general reader. World Christianity is fascinating for its own sake, but it also helps to deepen our understanding of how faith and life interact in more familiar settings.

So we are eager for you to read, ponder, and enjoy these Baylor Studies in World Christianity. There are many new things to learn, and many old things to see in a new light.

Joel A. Carpenter
Series Editor

Contents

Acknowledgments

W hen I was still a student, a friend both senior and wiser told me that if for no other reward than my education I should be grateful for my years of academic work. That education has taken me to Shanghai and Taichung and Hong Kong, Berkeley and San Diego, Chicago and London. It has introduced me to numerous and diverse teachers, given me languages with which to comprehend strangers and forge friendships, and offered me new ways to connect with family members and students.

That education, while generous, cannot compare to the generosity of individuals I have known across the years. I am indebted to Richard Madsen, Kathy Mooney, Dan Bays, Rhys Williams, Joseph Lee, S. K. Cheung, and Lenore Knight Johnson. As my mentors and friends, these individuals instruct and inspire me. Lily Chan Szeto, Wong Hau-Kum, and Carol Cheungeach cultivates my appreciation of the Chinese language. And the Hong Kong NGO founders, members, and staffto whom I assign pseudonyms reflecting their qualities of wisdom and compassion, joy and couragemake learning the deepest endeavor. They are the reason I keep going back to Hong Kong.

I have also known the generosity of institutions. FLAS and NSEP fellowships, professional encouragement and financial support from the University of California, San Diego, and the hospitality of Hong Kong Shue Yan University and the Chinese University of Hong Kong have aided my efforts to understand the significance of Christianity in Hong Kong. At North Park University, Chicago, I have benefited from funds awarded me by the Professional Development Committee and Dean Charles I. Peterson, as well as a full-year sabbatical granted by its Board of Trustees.

At Baylor University Press, the enthusiastic responses of Carey Newman and Joel Carpenter have left a lasting impression that sustains my effort still, while the expert direction of Gladys Lewis has boosted my confidence as she has improved my communication. Two anonymous readers offered feedback like old friends in conversation with me. They seemed entirely aware of what I needed to hear.

Next page

1234567...57

Light

Font size:

↓

↑

Georgia Tahoma Arial Verdana

Reset

Interval:

↓

↑

Bookmark:

Make

Similar books «Converts to Civil Society: Christianity and Political Culture in Contemporary Hong Kong»

Look at similar books to Converts to Civil Society: Christianity and Political Culture in Contemporary Hong Kong. We have selected literature similar in name and meaning in the hope of providing readers with more options to find new, interesting, not yet read works.

Betty Wei

CultureShock! Hong Kong

Gajendra Verma

Chinese Adolescents in Britain and Hong Kong

Nicholas Thomas

Democracy Denied: Identity, Civil Society and Illiberal Democracy in Hong Kong

Eliza W. Y. Lee

Public Policymaking in Hong Kong: Civic Engagement and State-Society Relations in a Semi-Democracy

Man-Kong Wong

Hong Kong History: Themes in Global Perspective

Vickers

Hong Kong: a quick guide to customs and etiquette

Dapiran

City of protest: a recent history of dissent in Hong Kong

Chan

Hong Kong: Culture Smart!

Chan Piera

Hong Kong Travel Guide

Tony Tan

Hong Kong Food City

Vickie Chan

Hong Kong - Culture Smart!: The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture

Sue Wright

One Country, Two Systems, Three Languages: A Survey of Changing Language Use in Hong Kong (Current Issues in Language and Society (Unnumbered).)

Discussion, reviews of the book Converts to Civil Society: Christianity and Political Culture in Contemporary Hong Kong and just readers' own opinions. Leave your comments, write what you think about the work, its meaning or the main characters. Specify what exactly you liked and what you didn't like, and why you think so.