A theological analysis of the ministry performed by Chinese nuns in contemporary China, this pape... more A theological analysis of the ministry performed by Chinese nuns in contemporary China, this paper underlines the specificities of their religious orders - including their integration into broader ecclesial dynamics, gender norms, and socio-political constraints - and highlights how they collectively perform the diaconia of the Church.
After the political reforms that followed the death of Mao Zedong, Chinese Catholics were gradual... more After the political reforms that followed the death of Mao Zedong, Chinese Catholics were gradually allowed to reestablish their churches and resume public gatherings. Yet this opened serious challenges. After decades of persecution and isolation, which reshaped the ways Chinese Catholics worshipped and perceived themselves, they needed to redefine Chinese Catholicism. Is performing specific rituals in both Latin and a local dialect, at home and in secret, enough to be Catholic? Who holds the religious authority to effectively administer the sacraments? To what extent is a formal relationship with the Pope necessary to remain Catholic? This article explores how Chinese Catholics have searched for support from outside their family circles and the People's Republic of China to answer their questions. This paper argues that in a rapidly changing politico-economic context marked by strict administrative control, Chinese Catholics have reestablished contacts with Global Catholicism through networking with missionary societies. More specifically, I look at collaborations which Chinese Catholics have established with the Paris Foreign Missions (MEP) to reassess the missiology of Chinese Catholicism. Discussing the evolving nature of these relationships after 1978, I show that the reconstruction of Catholicism in China has been a multilateral enterprise in which local Catholics have had to navigate political adversity, socio-cultural changes, and the Post-Vatican II reformation of worldwide Catholicism. In so doing, Chinese Catholics gradually moved outside of the intimacy of kinship groups and pre-defined rituals to engage actively with modernizing Chinese society and transforming world Catholicism.
Cette livraison s’ouvre sur trois in memoriam : le premier sur David Martin (1929-2019), sociolog... more Cette livraison s’ouvre sur trois in memoriam : le premier sur David Martin (1929-2019), sociologue britannique, spécialiste international des questions de sécularisation ; le second sur Françoise Lautman (1935-2019), sociologue, ethnologue et théologienne, qui fit partie de notre comité de rédaction ; le troisième sur Benjamin Fabre (1928-2019), professeur de philosophie, fidèle rédacteur de comptes rendus dans notre revue. « L’atelier des sciences sociales du religieux » engage ensuite une discussion à quatre voix sur la généalogie savante du mot rite dont l’objet fut longtemps écartelé, sinon marginalisé, entre les réflexions des théologiens sur le sens et la forme liturgiques et celles des érudits et des ethnographes sur l’origine et la mécanique des traditions. L’atelier se clôt par un retour sur le concept d’« angoisse eschatologique » dans l’œuvre de Max Weber. Les « notes critiques » qui suivent prolongent cette attention aux auteurs classiques avec un retour sur la notion d...
Attentive depuis longtemps aux travaux de Jacques Le Brun, comme en témoignait encore le précéden... more Attentive depuis longtemps aux travaux de Jacques Le Brun, comme en témoignait encore le précédent « Bulletin bibliographique » (no 188), les Archives rappellent l’œuvre de ce grand maître de l’histoire de la spiritualité et des institutions chrétiennes à l’époque moderne, récemment disparu. La rubrique « L’atelier des sciences sociales du religieux » accueille trois articles consacrés au livre de Wiktor Stoczkowski, La science sociale comme vision du monde. Émile Durkheim et le mirage du salut (Gallimard, 2019). Bien relayé dans les médias culturels mais objet de nombreuses objections parmi les spécialistes, cet ouvrage est l’occasion d’un retour réflexif et critique sur la tradition durkheimienne et ses relectures. Cinq « notes critiques » entraînent le lecteur de la laïcité et la gestion de l’altérité religieuse en France, au Maghreb et au Québec, à l’hindouisme et à la « religion chinoise », en passant par les enjeux de l’autobiographie en sciences sociales des religions. Trois ...
La figure de Vincent Lebbe interroge la Mission alors que la première moitié du 20e siècle prolon... more La figure de Vincent Lebbe interroge la Mission alors que la première moitié du 20e siècle prolonge le puissant élan missionnaire du siècle précédent, mais que les conditions de (la Mission) celle-ci se modifient progressivement et profondément, du fait autant de la réflexion missiologique et des dynamiques ecclésiales que des transformations des rapports de l’Occident et du monde. Mais sa trajectoire interpelle tout autant et impose de la confronter à d’autres expériences. En effet, si, pour le missionnaire, le départ a toujours représenté un point sur une trajectoire, aussi bien intellectuelle que spirituelle, culturelle ou simplement géographique, le contact étroit avec les populations cibles de « l’entreprise de conversion » a pu être à l’origine de nouveaux déplacements extérieurs comme relevant du for interne. Comme Roberto de Nobili en Inde et Matteo Ricci en Chine aux 16e et 17e siècles, comme les Pères jésuites « excurrens » au nord des Grands Lacs au 19e siècle, comme Monchanin et Lesaulx en Inde et Dumont en Jordanie, les missionnaires, hommes et femmes, envoyés dans le monde chinois au sens large, de même d’ailleurs que les chrétiens convertis, ont connu des cheminements très divers, des évolutions plus ou moins marquées, des inculturations ou des acculturations plus ou moins réussies, des formes d’engagement et de témoignage spécifiques. C’est tout l’objet de ce livre, issu de deux colloques internationaux tenus à Louvain-la-Neuve en 2016 et 2018 dans le cadre d’un projet de recherche conjoint entre l’Université catholique de Louvain et l’Université catholique Fujen (Taiwan)
This paper explores how Christians have established six communities in Nanping, Fujian, to discus... more This paper explores how Christians have established six communities in Nanping, Fujian, to discuss the unity and diversity of Chinese Christianity. The research provides a historical and ethnographic account of local churches, revealing the evolution of their modes of being religious and their organizational patterns over time. It argues that the negotiation of inter-ecclesial boundaries depends on specifically Christian features that foster a certain unity within the diversity of the Christian phenomenon. Aware of their different interpretations, all Christian communities still relate to the historical figure of Jesus Christ as their unique God and interact with the Church, a semi-transcendent being standing beyond their own congregation. Therefore, the diversity of churches, practices, and teachings should not be reduced to a juxtaposition of social groups promoting their own values and norms, but requires a multidimensional model of Christianity that encompasses the variety of hu...
This article explores the evolution of female religious life within the Catholic Church in China ... more This article explores the evolution of female religious life within the Catholic Church in China today. Through ethnographic observation, it establishes a spectrum of practices between two main traditions, namely the antique beatas and the modern missionary congregations. The article argues that Chinese nuns create forms of religious life that are quite distinct from more universal Catholic standards: their congregations are always diocesan and involved in multiple forms of apostolate. Despite the little attention they receive, Chinese nuns demonstrate how Chinese Catholics are creative in their appropriation of Christian traditions and their response to social and economic changes.
This article explores the ways in which Christians are building churches in contemporary Nanping,... more This article explores the ways in which Christians are building churches in contemporary Nanping, China. At first glance, their architectural style appears simply neo-Gothic, but these buildings indeed enact a rich web of significances that acts upon local Christians and beyond. Building on Actor-Network Theory and exploring the multiple ties in which they are embedded, I argue that these buildings are agents acting in their own right, which take an active part in the process of making the presence of the Christian God tangible.
The rapid transformation of Chinese Catholicism and its adaptation to the new urban environment h... more The rapid transformation of Chinese Catholicism and its adaptation to the new urban environment has been brought about by a wide range of participants and not just by the clergy. This article explores the motivations, organization and influences of one specific type of promotion of Chinese Catholicism: the entrepreneurial lay Catholics who have migrated from the rural countryside to the constantly growing Chinese cities.
Conclusion: The Tree of Life This book has explored the unity and diversity of Christianity in th... more Conclusion: The Tree of Life This book has explored the unity and diversity of Christianity in the Yanping District. By focusing on six local Christianizing assemblages, we have uncovered how various collaborations occur among human actors and material agents to simultaneously critique local worldviews and advocate for the recognition of the central and engaging presence of the Christian God. At the core of this process lies the epiphany of the questioning face toward which everyone and everything is invited-but not forced-to reposition oneself. The revelation of this being does not impose, though, a unique understanding of it, nor a blueprint for engaging with Christian traditions and local society. Nanping Christians constantly and collectively discern and negotiate the best way to respond to the naked face and to hierarchize priorities. The production of new religious practices, social involvement, and lines of distinction among Nanping Christianizing assemblages reveal that the turn to the Christian Lord does not automatically provide a predefined code of practices, nor a unique system of meaning with predetermined values. On the contrary, Nanping Christians are continuously producing and readjusting their many ways to engage with the calling face and their society. However, if the epiphany of the face does not bring a prearranged and coherent system of meaning with itself, it still comes with particular coacting entities. The enigmatic face emerges with and throughout the twin sponsorship of the Church and the pastoral clergy. These paired entitiesspecific to Christianizing assemblages-guide, support, and sponsor the
Archives Des Sciences Sociales Des Religions, 2020
This edited volume gathers contributions discussing the situation of the Catholic Church in conte... more This edited volume gathers contributions discussing the situation of the Catholic Church in contemporary China. In addition to describing debates evolving around post-Maoist Chinese Catholicism, it highlights the intricate relationships among local communities, political factors, and individual personalities involved in the making of the Church in China. A particularity of this volume is to gather contributions from both academic scholars and clergy members. Thus, the strength of the book is ...
A theological analysis of the ministry performed by Chinese nuns in contemporary China, this pape... more A theological analysis of the ministry performed by Chinese nuns in contemporary China, this paper underlines the specificities of their religious orders - including their integration into broader ecclesial dynamics, gender norms, and socio-political constraints - and highlights how they collectively perform the diaconia of the Church.
After the political reforms that followed the death of Mao Zedong, Chinese Catholics were gradual... more After the political reforms that followed the death of Mao Zedong, Chinese Catholics were gradually allowed to reestablish their churches and resume public gatherings. Yet this opened serious challenges. After decades of persecution and isolation, which reshaped the ways Chinese Catholics worshipped and perceived themselves, they needed to redefine Chinese Catholicism. Is performing specific rituals in both Latin and a local dialect, at home and in secret, enough to be Catholic? Who holds the religious authority to effectively administer the sacraments? To what extent is a formal relationship with the Pope necessary to remain Catholic? This article explores how Chinese Catholics have searched for support from outside their family circles and the People's Republic of China to answer their questions. This paper argues that in a rapidly changing politico-economic context marked by strict administrative control, Chinese Catholics have reestablished contacts with Global Catholicism through networking with missionary societies. More specifically, I look at collaborations which Chinese Catholics have established with the Paris Foreign Missions (MEP) to reassess the missiology of Chinese Catholicism. Discussing the evolving nature of these relationships after 1978, I show that the reconstruction of Catholicism in China has been a multilateral enterprise in which local Catholics have had to navigate political adversity, socio-cultural changes, and the Post-Vatican II reformation of worldwide Catholicism. In so doing, Chinese Catholics gradually moved outside of the intimacy of kinship groups and pre-defined rituals to engage actively with modernizing Chinese society and transforming world Catholicism.
Cette livraison s’ouvre sur trois in memoriam : le premier sur David Martin (1929-2019), sociolog... more Cette livraison s’ouvre sur trois in memoriam : le premier sur David Martin (1929-2019), sociologue britannique, spécialiste international des questions de sécularisation ; le second sur Françoise Lautman (1935-2019), sociologue, ethnologue et théologienne, qui fit partie de notre comité de rédaction ; le troisième sur Benjamin Fabre (1928-2019), professeur de philosophie, fidèle rédacteur de comptes rendus dans notre revue. « L’atelier des sciences sociales du religieux » engage ensuite une discussion à quatre voix sur la généalogie savante du mot rite dont l’objet fut longtemps écartelé, sinon marginalisé, entre les réflexions des théologiens sur le sens et la forme liturgiques et celles des érudits et des ethnographes sur l’origine et la mécanique des traditions. L’atelier se clôt par un retour sur le concept d’« angoisse eschatologique » dans l’œuvre de Max Weber. Les « notes critiques » qui suivent prolongent cette attention aux auteurs classiques avec un retour sur la notion d...
Attentive depuis longtemps aux travaux de Jacques Le Brun, comme en témoignait encore le précéden... more Attentive depuis longtemps aux travaux de Jacques Le Brun, comme en témoignait encore le précédent « Bulletin bibliographique » (no 188), les Archives rappellent l’œuvre de ce grand maître de l’histoire de la spiritualité et des institutions chrétiennes à l’époque moderne, récemment disparu. La rubrique « L’atelier des sciences sociales du religieux » accueille trois articles consacrés au livre de Wiktor Stoczkowski, La science sociale comme vision du monde. Émile Durkheim et le mirage du salut (Gallimard, 2019). Bien relayé dans les médias culturels mais objet de nombreuses objections parmi les spécialistes, cet ouvrage est l’occasion d’un retour réflexif et critique sur la tradition durkheimienne et ses relectures. Cinq « notes critiques » entraînent le lecteur de la laïcité et la gestion de l’altérité religieuse en France, au Maghreb et au Québec, à l’hindouisme et à la « religion chinoise », en passant par les enjeux de l’autobiographie en sciences sociales des religions. Trois ...
La figure de Vincent Lebbe interroge la Mission alors que la première moitié du 20e siècle prolon... more La figure de Vincent Lebbe interroge la Mission alors que la première moitié du 20e siècle prolonge le puissant élan missionnaire du siècle précédent, mais que les conditions de (la Mission) celle-ci se modifient progressivement et profondément, du fait autant de la réflexion missiologique et des dynamiques ecclésiales que des transformations des rapports de l’Occident et du monde. Mais sa trajectoire interpelle tout autant et impose de la confronter à d’autres expériences. En effet, si, pour le missionnaire, le départ a toujours représenté un point sur une trajectoire, aussi bien intellectuelle que spirituelle, culturelle ou simplement géographique, le contact étroit avec les populations cibles de « l’entreprise de conversion » a pu être à l’origine de nouveaux déplacements extérieurs comme relevant du for interne. Comme Roberto de Nobili en Inde et Matteo Ricci en Chine aux 16e et 17e siècles, comme les Pères jésuites « excurrens » au nord des Grands Lacs au 19e siècle, comme Monchanin et Lesaulx en Inde et Dumont en Jordanie, les missionnaires, hommes et femmes, envoyés dans le monde chinois au sens large, de même d’ailleurs que les chrétiens convertis, ont connu des cheminements très divers, des évolutions plus ou moins marquées, des inculturations ou des acculturations plus ou moins réussies, des formes d’engagement et de témoignage spécifiques. C’est tout l’objet de ce livre, issu de deux colloques internationaux tenus à Louvain-la-Neuve en 2016 et 2018 dans le cadre d’un projet de recherche conjoint entre l’Université catholique de Louvain et l’Université catholique Fujen (Taiwan)
This paper explores how Christians have established six communities in Nanping, Fujian, to discus... more This paper explores how Christians have established six communities in Nanping, Fujian, to discuss the unity and diversity of Chinese Christianity. The research provides a historical and ethnographic account of local churches, revealing the evolution of their modes of being religious and their organizational patterns over time. It argues that the negotiation of inter-ecclesial boundaries depends on specifically Christian features that foster a certain unity within the diversity of the Christian phenomenon. Aware of their different interpretations, all Christian communities still relate to the historical figure of Jesus Christ as their unique God and interact with the Church, a semi-transcendent being standing beyond their own congregation. Therefore, the diversity of churches, practices, and teachings should not be reduced to a juxtaposition of social groups promoting their own values and norms, but requires a multidimensional model of Christianity that encompasses the variety of hu...
This article explores the evolution of female religious life within the Catholic Church in China ... more This article explores the evolution of female religious life within the Catholic Church in China today. Through ethnographic observation, it establishes a spectrum of practices between two main traditions, namely the antique beatas and the modern missionary congregations. The article argues that Chinese nuns create forms of religious life that are quite distinct from more universal Catholic standards: their congregations are always diocesan and involved in multiple forms of apostolate. Despite the little attention they receive, Chinese nuns demonstrate how Chinese Catholics are creative in their appropriation of Christian traditions and their response to social and economic changes.
This article explores the ways in which Christians are building churches in contemporary Nanping,... more This article explores the ways in which Christians are building churches in contemporary Nanping, China. At first glance, their architectural style appears simply neo-Gothic, but these buildings indeed enact a rich web of significances that acts upon local Christians and beyond. Building on Actor-Network Theory and exploring the multiple ties in which they are embedded, I argue that these buildings are agents acting in their own right, which take an active part in the process of making the presence of the Christian God tangible.
The rapid transformation of Chinese Catholicism and its adaptation to the new urban environment h... more The rapid transformation of Chinese Catholicism and its adaptation to the new urban environment has been brought about by a wide range of participants and not just by the clergy. This article explores the motivations, organization and influences of one specific type of promotion of Chinese Catholicism: the entrepreneurial lay Catholics who have migrated from the rural countryside to the constantly growing Chinese cities.
Conclusion: The Tree of Life This book has explored the unity and diversity of Christianity in th... more Conclusion: The Tree of Life This book has explored the unity and diversity of Christianity in the Yanping District. By focusing on six local Christianizing assemblages, we have uncovered how various collaborations occur among human actors and material agents to simultaneously critique local worldviews and advocate for the recognition of the central and engaging presence of the Christian God. At the core of this process lies the epiphany of the questioning face toward which everyone and everything is invited-but not forced-to reposition oneself. The revelation of this being does not impose, though, a unique understanding of it, nor a blueprint for engaging with Christian traditions and local society. Nanping Christians constantly and collectively discern and negotiate the best way to respond to the naked face and to hierarchize priorities. The production of new religious practices, social involvement, and lines of distinction among Nanping Christianizing assemblages reveal that the turn to the Christian Lord does not automatically provide a predefined code of practices, nor a unique system of meaning with predetermined values. On the contrary, Nanping Christians are continuously producing and readjusting their many ways to engage with the calling face and their society. However, if the epiphany of the face does not bring a prearranged and coherent system of meaning with itself, it still comes with particular coacting entities. The enigmatic face emerges with and throughout the twin sponsorship of the Church and the pastoral clergy. These paired entitiesspecific to Christianizing assemblages-guide, support, and sponsor the
Archives Des Sciences Sociales Des Religions, 2020
This edited volume gathers contributions discussing the situation of the Catholic Church in conte... more This edited volume gathers contributions discussing the situation of the Catholic Church in contemporary China. In addition to describing debates evolving around post-Maoist Chinese Catholicism, it highlights the intricate relationships among local communities, political factors, and individual personalities involved in the making of the Church in China. A particularity of this volume is to gather contributions from both academic scholars and clergy members. Thus, the strength of the book is ...
La figure de Vincent Lebbe interroge la Mission alors que la première moitié du 20e siècle prolon... more La figure de Vincent Lebbe interroge la Mission alors que la première moitié du 20e siècle prolonge le puissant élan missionnaire du siècle précédent, mais que les conditions de (la Mission) se modifient progressivement et profondément, du fait autant de la réflexion missiologique et des dynamiques ecclésiales que des transformations des rapports de l’Occident et du monde. Mais sa trajectoire interpelle tout autant et impose de la confronter à d’autres expériences. En effet, si, pour le missionnaire, le départ a toujours représenté un point sur une trajectoire, aussi bien intellectuelle que spirituelle, culturelle ou simplement géographique, le contact étroit avec les populations cibles de « l’entreprise de conversion » a pu être à l’origine de nouveaux déplacements extérieurs comme relevant du for interne. Comme Roberto de Nobili en Inde et Matteo Ricci en Chine aux 16e et 17e siècles, comme les Pères jésuites « excurrens » au nord des Grands Lacs au 19e siècle, comme Monchanin et Lesaulx en Inde et Dumont en Jordanie, les missionnaires, hommes et femmes, envoyés dans le monde chinois au sens large, de même d’ailleurs que les chrétiens convertis, ont connu des cheminements très divers, des évolutions plus ou moins marquées, des inculturations ou des acculturations plus ou moins réussies, des formes d’engagement et de témoignage spécifiques. C’est tout l’objet de ce livre, issu de deux colloques internationaux tenus à Louvain-la-Neuve en 2016 et 2018 dans le cadre d’un projet de recherche conjoint entre l’Université catholique de Louvain et l’Université catholique Fujen (Taiwan).
l saggio è articolato in quattro parti, corrispondenti agli ultimi decenni della vita cattolica i... more l saggio è articolato in quattro parti, corrispondenti agli ultimi decenni della vita cattolica in Cina. Di ogni decennio, dopo aver brevemente descritto le trasformazioni socio-economiche, si illustrano i cambiamenti, le difficoltà, le occasioni colte e mancate della vita pastorale e missionaria, facendo attenzione sia alla vicenda della Chiesa locale che dei missionari esteri. Gli anni Ottanta, i primi del nuovo corso politico e sociale, furono caratterizzati da quattro importanti impegni missionari: visita, riconnessione e sostegno alle comunità cattoliche e formazione dei loro leader. I due decenni a cavallo del millennio furono segnati, tra le altre cose, dalla grande emigrazione interna dalle campagne alle periferie cittadine e centri industriali, generando un significativo conflitto tra cattolicesimo rurale e cittadino. Negli ultimi anni le possibilità di una presenza di missionari stranieri in Cina si è ridotta considerevolmente, ma è aumentata notevolmente la capacità della Chiesa cinese di accogliere le sfide pastorali e sociali, come l’impegno a sostenere le persone anziane. Oggi ci sono tante sfide aperte: l’Autore ne menziona alcune, come la necessità di un maggiore coinvolgimento dei laici; un’attenzione ai cinesi all’estero; una maggiore attenzione alla dimensione spirituale dell’esistenza.
nadine-amsler-andreea-badea-bernard-heyberger-and-christian-windler/ This is part of a roundtable... more nadine-amsler-andreea-badea-bernard-heyberger-and-christian-windler/ This is part of a roundtable Studying Europe Through the Lens of European Catholicism, and our special feature, Imagining, Thinking, and Teaching Europe.
An anthropological theorization of the unity and diversity of Christianity, this book focuses on ... more An anthropological theorization of the unity and diversity of Christianity, this book focuses on Christian communities in Nanping, a small city in China. It applies methodological insights from Actor-Network Theory to investigate how the Christian God is made part of local social networks. The study examines how Christians interact with and re-define material objects, such as buildings, pews, offerings, and blood, in order to identify the kind of networks and non-human actors that they collectively design. By comparing local Christian traditions with other practices informing the Nanping religious landscape, the study points out potential cohesion via the centralizing presence of the Christian God, the governing nature of the pastoral clergy, and the semi-transcendent being of the Church.
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Papers by Michel Chambon
Mais sa trajectoire interpelle tout autant et impose de la confronter à d’autres expériences. En effet, si, pour le missionnaire, le départ a toujours représenté un point sur une trajectoire, aussi bien intellectuelle que spirituelle, culturelle ou simplement géographique, le contact étroit avec les populations cibles de « l’entreprise de conversion » a pu être à l’origine de nouveaux déplacements extérieurs comme relevant du for interne.
Comme Roberto de Nobili en Inde et Matteo Ricci en Chine aux 16e et 17e siècles, comme les Pères jésuites « excurrens » au nord des Grands Lacs au 19e siècle, comme Monchanin et Lesaulx en Inde et Dumont en Jordanie, les missionnaires, hommes et femmes, envoyés dans le monde chinois au sens large, de même d’ailleurs que les chrétiens convertis, ont connu des cheminements très divers, des évolutions plus ou moins marquées, des inculturations ou des acculturations plus ou moins réussies, des formes d’engagement et de témoignage spécifiques. C’est tout l’objet de ce livre, issu de deux colloques internationaux tenus à Louvain-la-Neuve en 2016 et 2018 dans le cadre d’un projet de recherche conjoint entre l’Université catholique de Louvain et l’Université catholique Fujen (Taiwan).
ai cinesi all’estero; una maggiore attenzione alla dimensione spirituale dell’esistenza.