NO. 2 FOLK RELIGION IN SOUTHWEST CHINA — GRAHAM 223 



4. Devotion to the will of God. 



5. Belief in a final judgment that is just. 



6. The habit of pra3'ing frequently. 



7. Its world outlook and sense of world mission. 



8. Its missionary aggressiveness. 



9. The sense of unity among believers. 



ID. Its treatment of all races as equal, with no discrimination because of 

 race or color. 



11. Its ability to pass on the faith of fathers to their children, from generation 

 to generation. 



12. Its ability to adapt itself to different cultures. 



There is no doubt that Mohammedanism is a strong religion, and 

 will continue for centuries. Its ultimate usefulness to mankind de- 

 pends upon its ability to reform and to improve. 



CHRISTIANITY 



We have seen that Nestorian Christianity entered China during 

 the T'ang dynasty, and later completely disappeared. In recent cen- 

 turies the Russian Orthodox Church was established in China but 

 did not prosper greatly. Before World War II there were approxi- 

 mately 200,000 members of the Russian Orthodox Church in China, 

 of which a small minority were Chinese. In 1957 there were about 

 40,000 members, of which about 20,000 were Chinese (China Bulletin 

 of the Far Eastern Office, Division of Foreign Missions, NCCC/USA, 

 November 11, 1957, p. 2). Roman Catholicism entered China much 

 earlier than Protestantism, and in spite of opposition and persecutions 

 spread into every province of China and into Tibet. It opened and 

 conducted churches, schools, hospitals, and orphanages, and its pri- 

 mary purpose was to convert people and to teach them the Roman 

 Catholic faith. In 1922 there were approximately 2 million Chinese 

 communicants. 



Protestant Christianity began in China in 1807 with one missionary, 

 Robert Morrison, At first missionaries were added slowly, and Chi- 

 nese converts were very few. With the opening later of treaty ports, 

 and with the new treaties making it possible for foreign missionaries 

 to live, travel, preach, own property, and establish churches in any 

 part of China, the number of missions and missionaries rapidly in- 

 creased. In 1948 before the iron curtain went down there were ap- 

 proximately I million Protestant communicants in China, many of 

 whom were outstanding leaders in the church, in schools, in hospitals, 

 and in the government. 



While the Protestants were interested in making Chinese Christians 



