Panel: RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY IN THE PUBLIC SPHERE (WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO EUROPE AND CHINA)



247.4 - LIVED THEOLOGY IN THE CHINESE CONTEXT: A CASE STUDY FROM HONG KONG

AUTHORS:
Brandner T. (Chinese University of Hong Kong ~ Shatin ~ Hong Kong)
Text:
The concept of 'lived theology' has in recent years increasingly been used to describe how theology finds expression not just in theological treatises and explicit statements of faith but also in individual and communal practices and experiences of grassroots Christians. It is based on the idea that faith-based practices and actions, as concrete expressions of God's presence, are the actual building blocks of theology (Marsh 2016:8). It follows the approach of 'lived religion,' which similarly reflects a focus on ordinary people's lives and beliefs and refers to religion as interwoven with the everyday lives of people (Ammerman 2014, 190). This paper identifies and describes various features of lived theology in the local Hong Kong context, how they affect the public sphere and constitute a lived public theology. Among the relevant features are a strong focus on the family, a distance and negative view of the world, and, in contrast to this, a life-affirming, pragmatic, and outgoing attitude. It argues that lived theology in Hong Kong integrates elements from global evangelicalism, the global Pentecostal-charismatic movement, and the worldwide ecumenical movement, transforms them by absorbing elements of Confucian teaching and Daoist religious practices, and amalgamates them with the needs of a global city and financial center. The paper is methodologically based on participating observation and interviews with Christian leaders and grassroots believers in this city.