Friction in Ideology
"Throughout the country, Church leaders were dragged into public 'struggle meetings' to be humiliated or beaten. Countless were sent to labor camps or driven to suicide or apostasy."
- Lian Xi |
Ideological Threat- The Cultural Revolution essentially showed the friction in ideology between Communist, Maoist thought, and Christianity. The cultural revolution strategically targeted Christians and other dissidents for “public denunciation meetings,” and these actions were all motivated by a conflict in ideology. Within the events that occurred within the Cultural Revolution in China under Mao, there is no ground for a “realist” interpretation. Protestant Christians were not a power threat to China's hegemonic government, (they were not seeking to gain power) but rather, they were an ideological threat. Christians primarily posed an ideological threat, and this made them targets for Mao and the Red Guard.
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Maoist Thought- During the Cultural Revolution, Maoist thought became the leading force. Mao believed that the dictatorship of the proletariat does not wipe out bourgeois ideology. Instead, the class-struggle grows even more during socialism. Due to this, a consistent struggle against these types of ideologies must take place, cutting them off at their social roots and wiping out traditionalism. After the initial widespread violence of the Cultural Revolution in 1966-1967, the Red Guards lost interest in their older enemies and factions began to fight one another. As chaos and anarchy increased, Mao realized he needed to do something in order to bring the situation under control. He brought in the People's Liberation Army (PLA) to restore order, and to encourage the intensive study of Maoist thought (Wickeri 175). At this time, Mao's Little Red Book became extremely popular and almost everyone had a copy and was expected to study the teachings within it. Mao's Little Red Book is a book composed of 427 quotations, divided into 33 thematic chapters in which he states his thoughts on many societal issues and lays out his ideology of what a state should like like, how it should govern, and how the people should respond and interact with the state.
Friction- Mao envisioned that truth would "spring up from the people (spoken for by Mao), through class struggle (that is, violence) and any ideology that went against his interpretation of Marxism-Leninism was heresy" (Bays 185). Christianity posed as an ideological threat to his interpretation of Marxism-Leninism, and so he had no problem stifling its presence in Chinese society. Christianity posed an ideological threat and challenge to Maoist thought on multiple levels. One of the main problems that Mao had with Christianity is that it promoted human rights and stood for justice. Maoist thought did not stand for human rights whatsoever, and instead encouraged the violation of human rights through the limiting of the press, speech, and widespread persecution of those who did not follow Maoist thought. Mao also believed in the overthrowing of authority within homes and schools, as students and children were encouraged to go against their parents and teachers. Christians believe in Supreme authority, and also believe that teachers and parents have God-given authority within their area of influence. In this way, the two ideologies clashed again. Christians did not believe that the CCP was ultimate authority, and Mao did. Due to the many ideological clashes that Maoist thought had with Christianity, Christians were targeted because they were seen as being one of the main reactionary groups against Maoist ideology.
Friction- Mao envisioned that truth would "spring up from the people (spoken for by Mao), through class struggle (that is, violence) and any ideology that went against his interpretation of Marxism-Leninism was heresy" (Bays 185). Christianity posed as an ideological threat to his interpretation of Marxism-Leninism, and so he had no problem stifling its presence in Chinese society. Christianity posed an ideological threat and challenge to Maoist thought on multiple levels. One of the main problems that Mao had with Christianity is that it promoted human rights and stood for justice. Maoist thought did not stand for human rights whatsoever, and instead encouraged the violation of human rights through the limiting of the press, speech, and widespread persecution of those who did not follow Maoist thought. Mao also believed in the overthrowing of authority within homes and schools, as students and children were encouraged to go against their parents and teachers. Christians believe in Supreme authority, and also believe that teachers and parents have God-given authority within their area of influence. In this way, the two ideologies clashed again. Christians did not believe that the CCP was ultimate authority, and Mao did. Due to the many ideological clashes that Maoist thought had with Christianity, Christians were targeted because they were seen as being one of the main reactionary groups against Maoist ideology.
"It is up to us to organize the people. As for the reactionaries in China, it is up to us to organize the people to overthrow them. Everything reactionary is the same; if you don't hit it, it won't fall. This is also like sweeping the floor; as a rule, where the broom does not reach, the dust will not vanish of itself."
- Mao on Class and Class Struggle
- Mao on Class and Class Struggle
During this time, Christians were targeted specifically as they were forced to denounce Christianity or die.
However, Christianity was not fully driven out as Shang Chunqiao, CCP head in Shanghai declared near the end of the Cultural Revolution. Christianity in China was merely driven underground. By 2000, there were fifteen million registered Protestants, proving that Christianity had not died but actually grown. The CCP's fight to kill of Christianity due to the clash in ideology failed. However, the ideological struggle did continue after the Cultural Revolution and when China opened up in 1979.
Even today, the evidence that the Chinese Government views Christians as an ideological threat is strong as the CCP has issued
"directives insisting on 'correct' ideology among party members, university lecturers, students, researchers, and journalists. These documents warn agains the perils of 'universal values' and human rights, and assert the importance of a pro-government and pro-CCP state." (Human Rights Watch Report China 2015).
Christians who speak out against the government's ideology are not tolerated, as the government remains extremely hostile to criticism. Although the physical evidence (persecution, public denunciation meetings, etc) of an ideological clash between the current Chinese government and Christians in China today is not as extreme as it was during the Cultural Revolution, the Chinese government still sees Christians as an ideological threat, and friction still exists.
However, Christianity was not fully driven out as Shang Chunqiao, CCP head in Shanghai declared near the end of the Cultural Revolution. Christianity in China was merely driven underground. By 2000, there were fifteen million registered Protestants, proving that Christianity had not died but actually grown. The CCP's fight to kill of Christianity due to the clash in ideology failed. However, the ideological struggle did continue after the Cultural Revolution and when China opened up in 1979.
Even today, the evidence that the Chinese Government views Christians as an ideological threat is strong as the CCP has issued
"directives insisting on 'correct' ideology among party members, university lecturers, students, researchers, and journalists. These documents warn agains the perils of 'universal values' and human rights, and assert the importance of a pro-government and pro-CCP state." (Human Rights Watch Report China 2015).
Christians who speak out against the government's ideology are not tolerated, as the government remains extremely hostile to criticism. Although the physical evidence (persecution, public denunciation meetings, etc) of an ideological clash between the current Chinese government and Christians in China today is not as extreme as it was during the Cultural Revolution, the Chinese government still sees Christians as an ideological threat, and friction still exists.