PEOPLE

24.6% 324 million (mix of Confucianism, Taoist, & folk religion)
Buddhist 3% 36 million
Animism 2.4% 28.8 million
Islamic 2.4% 28.8 million (43,000 official mosques)
Christian total 8.5% (official figure 1%)
Evangelical 7.7% 100 million - growth 7.7%

During the first 3 dynasties as early as 2230BC "the supreme heavenly ruler" was worshipped. The Chinese were initially monotheistic. During the Zhou dynasty 1066 - 770BC the leaders taught that only the emperor was good enough to worship God, intervening for the people. This caused a spiritual vacuum and other forms of worship crept in. With the introduction of Taoist & Buddhist concepts, the original worship to one supreme God were lost. The Chinese characters also show the main stories of Genesis and point to Christ.

In 1949 all foreign missionaries had to leave China. A Three Self Church (self governing, financing, propagating) was established to inhibit & control the growth of Christianity. In 1996 there were 8,000 churches & 13 seminaries.However, there are estimates that between 24-28,000 Chinese are becoming Christians every day.

Due to government hostility and the growth of the underground church there are not enough trained leaders to meet the needs. At least 100,000 untrained leaders are in full time ministry.

About 90% of China's Christians worship in the underground church (churches not recognised by the government). These churches number over 200,000. In 1998 house church leaders for the first time called on the Communist government to officially recognise house churches.

More than 1.1 billion do not know Christ and have not had the opportunity of learning about Him. There are at least 50 unreached peoples groups that do not have a viable church. The many believers still do not have a bible. Christians are still experiencing harassment, arrests, torture and martyrdom. China's "strike-hard" policy of 1996, a crackdown on criminals, (also Christians), put more believers under detention than in any other country. The confiscation of church property and Bibles continues-even Bibles officially printed by the government.

The Chinese claim a history of 5000 years from the Xia 2205BC to the Ching 1931. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was formed in 1921. The Kuomintang led initially by Sun Yatsen and on his death, Chiang Kaishek, favoured a capitalist state supported by a military dictatorship. They set out to end Communist influence and the power of northern warlords.1928 saw Chiang holding military & political leadership. Mao Zedong adopted guerrilla warfare. Chiang's 5th campaign caused the Communists to retreat from Jiagnxi to Shaanxi - the Long March of 1934. 90,000 started, 20,000 finished, 1 year and 8000 km later. En route Mao armed the peasants, proving that, given a method, organisation, leadership, hope and weapons, the Chinese could fight. During the march, Mao became the leader of the CCP.

1st October 1949 Mao proclaimed the foundation of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Chiang fled to Taiwan. Tibet was "liberated" in 1950 forcing the exile of the Dali Llama and 100,000 Tibetans, & the death of 1.2 million.

The Cultural Revolution (1966-70) tried to increase Mao's personal presence; his little red book, purging of opponents and the launch of the Red Guard. Universities closed, intellectuals killed or re-educated, publications ceased and China's feudal and capitalist past were destroyed.

After 1978, his successor Deng Xiaoping gradually introduced market-oriented reforms and decentralized economic decision making. Output quadrupled in the next 20 years and China now has the world's second largest GDP. Political controls remain tight even while economic controls continue to weaken.