Shouwang Church
Encyclopedia
The Shouwang Church is a Protestant Chinese house church
in Beijing, China, and the biggest of about 3,000 of such congregations in the city. The word shouwang means "to keep watch" in Mandarin
.
. Since then, the number of its members has increased from 10 to 1,000 as of June 2011.
The Shouwang Church's services are conducted at members' homes or in rented conference rooms; its other activities include 40 biblical reading groups, choir
practice and catechism
. Shouwang members typically belong to the middle and upper classes, and include professors, doctors, lawyers, students and Party
members.
by the Chinese authorities, who disapprove of religious groups that are not subject to state control. The church was forced to change headquarters more than 20 times, and was prevented from buying or renting a church building.
Persecution intensified in the context of the general 2011 crackdown on dissidents
, following an announcement by church leaders that they would begin holding Sunday prayer
meetings in public, if they were not allowed to acquire premises. As of June 2011, several dozen Shouwang followers are detained every week and forced to sign a disavowal of their spiritual guide before being released, and six church leaders have been placed under house arrest
. According to the German weekly Die Zeit
, Beijing police use around 4,500 officers to provide surveillance of Zhongguancun Square and of the homes of about 500 church members, to prevent the church from congregating.
Chinese house church
Chinese house churches are a religious movement of unregistered assemblies of Christians in the People's Republic of China, which operate independently of the government-run Three-Self Patriotic Movement and China Christian Council for Protestant groups and the Chinese Patriotic Catholic...
in Beijing, China, and the biggest of about 3,000 of such congregations in the city. The word shouwang means "to keep watch" in Mandarin
Standard Chinese
Standard Chinese, or Modern Standard Chinese, also known as Mandarin or Putonghua, is the official language of the People's Republic of China and Republic of China , and is one of the four official languages of Singapore....
.
History and membership
The church was founded in 1993 by Jin Tianming, a chemical engineering graduate of Tsinghua UniversityTsinghua University
Tsinghua University , colloquially known in Chinese as Qinghua, is a university in Beijing, China. The school is one of the nine universities of the C9 League. It was established in 1911 under the name "Tsinghua Xuetang" or "Tsinghua College" and was renamed the "Tsinghua School" one year later...
. Since then, the number of its members has increased from 10 to 1,000 as of June 2011.
The Shouwang Church's services are conducted at members' homes or in rented conference rooms; its other activities include 40 biblical reading groups, choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
practice and catechism
Catechism
A catechism , i.e. to indoctrinate) is a summary or exposition of doctrine, traditionally used in Christian religious teaching from New Testament times to the present...
. Shouwang members typically belong to the middle and upper classes, and include professors, doctors, lawyers, students and Party
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
members.
Persecution
Like other house churches, the Shouwang Church is subject to harassmentHarassment
Harassment covers a wide range of behaviors of an offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behaviour intended to disturb or upset, and it is characteristically repetitive. In the legal sense, it is intentional behaviour which is found threatening or disturbing...
by the Chinese authorities, who disapprove of religious groups that are not subject to state control. The church was forced to change headquarters more than 20 times, and was prevented from buying or renting a church building.
Persecution intensified in the context of the general 2011 crackdown on dissidents
2011 crackdown on dissidents in the People's Republic of China
The 2011 crackdown on dissidents in the People's Republic of China refers to the arrest of dozens of mainland Chinese rights lawyers, activists and grassroots agitators in a response to the 2011 Chinese pro-democracy protests...
, following an announcement by church leaders that they would begin holding Sunday prayer
Prayer
Prayer is a form of religious practice that seeks to activate a volitional rapport to a deity through deliberate practice. Prayer may be either individual or communal and take place in public or in private. It may involve the use of words or song. When language is used, prayer may take the form of...
meetings in public, if they were not allowed to acquire premises. As of June 2011, several dozen Shouwang followers are detained every week and forced to sign a disavowal of their spiritual guide before being released, and six church leaders have been placed under house arrest
House arrest
In justice and law, house arrest is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to his or her residence. Travel is usually restricted, if allowed at all...
. According to the German weekly Die Zeit
Die Zeit
Die Zeit is a German nationwide weekly newspaper that is highly respected for its quality journalism.With a circulation of 488,036 and an estimated readership of slightly above 2 million, it is the most widely read German weekly newspaper...
, Beijing police use around 4,500 officers to provide surveillance of Zhongguancun Square and of the homes of about 500 church members, to prevent the church from congregating.