ABSTRACT
This chapter reconstructs the history of the first round of the Condemning Christianity Movement conducted nationwide. It sheds light on how the Chinese people and especially the young Chinese perceived Christianity, pointing out that many sharp criticisms against Christianity focused on this religion’s inseparable connection with Western imperialism and its slavish servility towards Western missionary societies and their governing churches. Responding to free thinkers’ criticisms, leading Chinese Christians defended their religion and argued against those ungrounded accusations. Most importantly, many Chinese Christians remained inclusive and open-minded and did not reject reasonable criticisms, but instead they seriously performed self-examination and did their best to correct their mistakes and improve the image of Christianity and the Church.
