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Christianity and Civic Activism in Postcolonial Hong Kong

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The Palgrave Handbook of Global Social Change

Abstract

This article investigates the resilience of Christian faith-based activism in Hong Kong from the Umbrella Movement (2014) to the mass protests against the China extradition bill (April–September 2019). The anti-extradition struggle was part of an intense moment of local upheavals against the Chinese Communist state. This study defines “Christian civic activism” as a variety of nonviolent faith practices and sociopolitical activities inside a house of worship and in the surrounding environment, intended for church members to influence governmental decision-making. In Hong Kong, the analytical boundary between faith-based activism and civic engagement has blurred, when Catholics and Protestants marched into the public square to fight for their political rights since 2014. Even when the Hong Kong Police Force resorted to excessive violence against civilians in 2019 and when China pursued policies of non-negotiation and securitization through the imposition of a national security law in 2020, Christian citizens, out of their deep religious conscience and their concern for universal values, remain committed to bringing about conflict resolution and systematic change. This localized case study highlights a wide range of innovative strategies for faith-based activism against an increasingly authoritarian state.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of History and Global Asia Institute, Pace University, New York, NY, USA

    Joseph Tse-Hei Lee

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  1. Joseph Tse-Hei Lee
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Correspondence to Joseph Tse-Hei Lee .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Work and Social Welfare, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel

    Rajendra Baikady

  2. Department of Social Work, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India

    S.M. Sajid

  3. Department of Social Work, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park, South Africa

    Varoshini Nadesan

  4. Centre for Family Research, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Torun, Poland

    Jaroslaw Przeperski

  5. Inst of Social Welfare & Res, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh

    M. Rezaul Islam

  6. Department of Social Work, Shandong University, **an, China

    Jianguo Gao

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Lee, J.TH. (2022). Christianity and Civic Activism in Postcolonial Hong Kong. In: Baikady, R., Sajid, S., Nadesan, V., Przeperski, J., Islam, M.R., Gao, J. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Global Social Change . Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-87624-1_140-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-87624-1_140-1

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-87624-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-87624-1

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Social SciencesReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

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