Qufu: church construction on hold because it would overshadow Confucius

The construction of a Protestant church continues to be controversial in the philosopher’s hometown. Some Confucian scholars openly opposed the project five years ago. Now the issue is back in the news. The building itself is still in planning stage. Locally, religions co-existed for centuries.

Beijing (AsiaNews) – Last week, Confucian scholars signed an open letter, calling for a ban on the construction of a church in Qufu, Confucius’ hometown, sparking a debate as to whether the church is an infringement on traditional culture and religious freedom. 

The scholars, who began their protest in December 2010, were not mollified by a proposal to include a Christian-Confucian exchange centre.

For now, plans for the Gothic-style Protestant Holy Trinity Church are still on. Once completed, it would stand 42-metre-high and have 3,000 seats, overshadowing a 25-metre temple dedicated to Confucius. 

In the first open letter released in 2010, the group of scholars expressed their concern over the project, calling for respect for “the sacred land of Chinese culture”. 

In their latest statement, they claim that a church was “secretly” built three years ago, some three km from the Confucius Temple, and that the Gothic-style church would eventually replace the existing bungalow-style building. “The bungalow will be revamped to become a larger Protestant church after the Spring Festival”, said the open letter.

An official with the local Religious Affairs Department told Global Times, an English-language Chinese paper, that he had no knowledge of the new church. 

In reality, a makeshift church has existed since 2005. The bungalow-style church can accommodate only 800 people. According to the church caretaker, sometimes worshipers have to stay outside in the courtyard.

Local authorities approved plans for the new church several years ago to replace a church that had been destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. 

The open letter claims that there were no foreign religious places of worship before. However, various religions have coexisted in Qufu for hundreds of years.

A mosque located only 500 meters from the Confucius Temple was built at the end of Ming Dynasty. Destroyed during the Cultural Revolution, it was rebuilt in the last decade.  Two local churches, one Protestant and one Catholic, were also destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. 

According to the Global Times, at least 7,000 registered Protestants lived in Qubu in 2011, whilst the number of unregistered Protestants might top 10,000. 

Chinese authorities have never recognised Confucianism as a religion. However, some neo-Confucian scholars are seeking legal recognition for it from the government. 

During the Mao era, Confucianism was regarded as a vestige of feudalism and Confucius’ relics were severely damaged during various campaigns.

Nowadays, the old philosopher and his ideas are popular again with China’s rulers who rely on them in order to promote a “harmonious society”.

In recent years, China has also tried to revive Confucianism as a tool of “soft power” to counter Western cultural influence. 

• china
• qufu
• confucius
• religious freedom
• christian church
• blueprint
• mosque