Email This StoryBU awarded $1.7 million for Chinese spirituality study
Aug. 21, 2006By DORIAN WILLIS, Contributor
Over the past decade, Christianity in China has spread rapidly. More than 25 million Chinese residents are Christians, and these numbers are still growing.
In response to this increasing religious trend, Baylor was rewarded a grant of $1.7 million from the John M. Templeton Foundation to conduct research on Chinese spirituality and beliefs.
This program will give the Baylor community an opportunity to learn about the significance of culture and religion in China.
As Baylor's student population continues to grow, so does the number of multicultural groups among the Baylor community. Along with the increasing population comes misunderstandings about different cultures, traditions and religions.
The study permitted by the Templeton Foundation will enable students, faculty and community members to gain knowledge and understanding of the unique characteristics of the Chinese, and to study and research in China.
Studying Chinese religion
As part of the project, there will be increased opportunities for interactions between Baylor students and the people of China.
Researchers from China will be on campus to provide learning opportunities even for those not directly involved.
"It's a great opportunity to appreciate the differences among us," Mencken said.
On May 23, the Center for Religious Inquiry Across Disciplines (CRIAD) team announced they were soon launching a major initiative dedicated to promoting the scientific study of religion in contemporary China.
Through CRIAD, post-doctorate residents will perform research and collect information about Chinese spirituality titled "An Empirical Study of Religion in China."
"I am one of many people who are interested in China," Dr. David Jeffrey, distinguished professor of literature and humanities, said. "There are many more Christians in China than there used to be, and we are going to find out why."
As a visiting professor at Peking University since 1997, Jeffrey is one of many Baylor faculty and staff interested in spreading Chinese religious views on campus.
The grant is geared toward an academic understanding of China, and will help in spreading the knowledge of a different culture than our own, Jeffrey said.
Assisting Mencken on the project will be numerous professors, including Dr. Byron Johnson, professor of sociology and director of CRIAD; Dr. Rodney Stark, university professor of social sciences; and Dr. Christopher Marsh, associate professor of political science.
Johnson's research focuses on the effects of faith-based organizations and how they can resolve social problems.
"This grant is a great one for us to continue this research in China," Johnson said.
Marsh, director of asian studies, said he has been interested in China for a long time.
The Asian Studies program provides opportunities for study and research of the diverse societies on the Asian continent, Marsh said.
Increasing Interest
"Many students want to know why we should even care about other beliefs in countries such as China," said Dr. Carson Mencken, professor of sociology and the project's director. "Through this study I think many minds will be changed, especially for the Baylor community."
With diversity increasing on campus, the problems of cultural misunderstanding have also begun to rise. An attack on a Muslim student in the spring shed light on the misunderstandings of other religious beliefs.
Dr. Dub Oliver, vice president for student life, believes the grant will increase diversity and through understanding and learning.
"There can be no change without education," Oliver said.
Over the past year, Oliver found it challenging to bring the Baylor community together. Oliver has developed forums and plans on providing more opportunities for people in the Baylor community to learn about one another.
He said he believes this program will open students' minds to the differences and similarities between Western culture and China.
Despite the numerous opportunities available to study abroad, he said many students either don't know about these opportunities or don't want to take the time to learn about them.
"I think social science research in general helps us understand ourselves and our communities," Oliver said. "Understanding more about the importance of spirituality to the Chinese would be beneficial for all of us."
Baylor in the Far East
In the past, Baylor has also been involved in numerous study abroad programs to China. The first program began with Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) in 1961.
The relationship between HKBU and Baylor has deepened over the years due to Baylor graduates who have taught at Hong Kong and the Hong Kong students who received graduate degrees from Baylor.
Baylor also established a faculty exchange program in June 1984 with Yunnan University and Tsinghua University in 1998.
The exchange program allows teachers to perform research and students to study for one academic school year.
In addition to the study abroad programs currently offered during the academic year, there are also opportunities for Baylor students to study abroad during the summer.
HKBU allows students during the first summer session, during which session students can study a variety of courses at HKBU including business, Chinese language and literature, music, fine arts, social science and other core requirements.
The study will also include a nationwide survey conducted by the Gallup Organization to poll about 3,000 residents on Chinese spiritual beliefs.
This random sampling will include telephone interviews as well as "walk-around surveys."
"This is going to be the first study over Chinese religion and a landmark study since this has never been done before," said Dr. Anna Xiao Dung Sun, CRIAD research fellows, visiting professor from Kenyon College and one of the co-principal investigators of the program.
Sun is a native of Beijing and believes people are prevented from knowing more about one another due to a lack of available data, not solely from a lack of interest.
The survey team will have a difficult time coming up with a design for the study, she said, due to the changes in certain religions in China.
An April 2005 Government White Paper stated there are "more than 100 million religious adherents," representing a wide range of beliefs and practices.
In addition, it stated China has more than 85,000 sites for religious activities.
Sun said residents of China will also be interested in this project because of the lack of reliable data about all these activities.
"China is as curious as the scholars are about what is really going on in the religious life of the Chinese people," she said.
The Templeton grant has also peaked the interest of some Baylor students who are interested in studying and researching asian culture and studying abroad in China.
"Chinese culture can be misunderstood, but it's great to see that we are doing something about it," Houston senior Natasha Legette said.
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