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Christianity in China has a history going back to the 7th century during the Tang dynasty. Today, it comprises Catholics, Protestants, and a small number of Orthodox Christians. Although its lineage in China is not as ancient as the institutional religions of Taoism, Mahayana Buddhism and Confucianism, Christianity has existed in China since at least the seventh century and has gained influence over the past 200 years.〔Daniel H. Bays. ''A New History of Christianity in China.'' (Chichester, West Sussex ; Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, Blackwell Guides to Global Christianity, 2012). ISBN 9781405159548.〕 In recent years, the number of Chinese Christians has increased significantly, particularly since the easing of restrictions on religious activity during economic reforms in the late 1970s; Christians were 4 million before 1949 (3 million Catholics and 1 million Protestants), and are in the tens of millions today.〔MIller, 2006. pp. 185-186〕 Various statistical analyses have found that between 2% and 4% of the Chinese identify as Christian. In many parts of China, the practice of religion continues to be tightly controlled by government authorities. Chinese over the age of 18 are only permitted to join officially sanctioned Christian groups registered with the government-approved Protestant Three-Self Church and China Christian Council, and Chinese Patriotic Catholic Church.〔 p.165〕 On the other hand, many Christians practice in informal networks referred to as "house churches", the proliferation of which began in the 1950s when many Chinese Catholics and Protestants began to reject state-controlled structures purported to represent them.〔Goossaert, Vincent and David A. Palmer. ''The Religious Question in Modern China.'' Chicago: The University of Chicago Press (2011), pp. 380-387.〕 Members of such groups are said to represent the "silent majority" of Chinese Christians and represent many diverse theological traditions.〔Hunter, Alan and Kim-Kwong Chan. ''Protestantism in Contemporary China.'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (1993), p. 178.〕 == Terminology == (詳細はShangdi'' (上帝, literally, "Highest Emperor"), used commonly by Protestants and also by non-Christians, and ''Tianzhu'' (天主, literally, "Lord of Heaven"), which is most commonly favoured by Catholics. ''Shen'' (神), also widely used by Chinese Protestants, defines the gods or generative powers of nature in Chinese traditional religions. Historically, Christians have also adopted a variety of terms from the Chinese classics as referents to God, for example Ruler (主宰) and Creator (造物主). Terms for Christianity in Chinese include: "Protestantism" (); "Catholicism" (); and Eastern Orthodox Christians (). The whole of Orthodox Christianity is named ''Zhèng jiào'' (正教). Christians in China are referred to as "Christ followers/believers" () or "Christ religion followers/believers" (). 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Christianity in China」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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