The article below points out the crisis of faith in China; the fact that China has no shared belief system. The society needs "social renewal," which is a common theme among churches in China.
The notion of social renewal is a common theme among urban churches as they consider what it means for the church to take its place on the stage of society. The need for social renewal is linked to the recognition that there is no shared belief system among China's people, according to persecution.org.
In an article titled "The Achilles Heel of China's Rise: Belief," Liu Peng, a researcher in the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, writes that China's current "crisis of faith" is the result of more than three decades of rapid economic development divorced from any underlying theology.
In Liu's words, "The reason why Chinese society has been an abundance of outrageous and ridiculous phenomena, with little corresponding uprightness is not because we are short of money. Rather it is because we have lost our faith. ... While the core of the value and belief systems that buoyed the Chinese spirit in the past has been destroyed," according to persecution.org.
Liu is not necessarily referring to religious faith. Faith, for Liu, is simply a set of beliefs one internalizes, provides meaning and motivation for life.
In the case of a nation, "Faith is necessary to offer a fundamental reason for its existence and development and to motivate its citizens to work together for great achievement.
Liu advocates that the Party acknowledge what most people already know to be true: The Party's days of telling people what to believe are over, according to persecution.org.
