The Catholic Church is pushing to reclaim land and properties confiscated more than 40 years ago to extend its reach in China, as XuWei and Sun Ruisheng report from Changzhi, Shanxi province

The city of Changzhi in Shanxi province may have lost a notable entrepreneur the day Andrew Jin Daoyuan decided to commit himself to religion and become a priest in the Catholic Church.

Jin, who was ordained as a priest by the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association in 1956, and as a bishop in 2000, was instrumental in resurrecting the fortunes of the church in Changzhi diocese after he and other local priests were forced to abandon their spiritual roles and become farmers during the "cultural revolution" (1966-76).

Despite Jin's business nous, the rebuilding process was tough. "We started from almost nothing. But I knew that a church without the means to sustain itself financially could never play a full role in society," said the 86-year-old, who serves at the Nantiangong Church in the diocese.

Starting in the late 1980s, Jin used his entrepreneurial skills to take advantage of the business opportunities presented by the government's relaxed attitude toward the CPCA, and started a number of ventures, including a vinegar factory with an annual production volume of 3,000 metric tons, an embroidery factory, and a number of clinics and shops.

Jin believes that dioceses need to be self-financing to a large degree, and that financial security is essential to both the survival of local churches and the quality of the services they offer.

Emphasizing the need for financial independence, Ding Lingbin, secretary-general of the Changzhi Diocese under the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, said, "The church needs to reach out to the people and society, but without a stable source of income, it can do nothing."

However, despite owning a large number of businesses, the diocese is still unable to realize its ambition of building a nursing home for city residents, according to Ding. "The donations made by the congregation are an important part of our income, but they are largely casual and unstable," he said.

Founded in 1890, Changzhi is one of the oldest Catholic dioceses in China, and its estimated 60,000 followers can worship at more than 70 churches spread across the city's urban and rural areas. In the 1990s, the city's Catholics numbered about 50,000, but Christianity, both the Protestant and Catholic denominations, has seen a surge in popularity nationwide in recent years. In 1988, there were 4.5 million Protestants and about 12 million Catholics in China, according to a 2010 report by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Since then, the numbers have continued to rise. Wang Zuo'an, head of the State Administration for Religious Affairs, told Study Times that there were at least 23 million Protestants in China in 2013, while the number of Catholics was estimated to be around 5.5 million.

Cao Nanlai, an associate professor of religious studies at Renmin University of China, said the recent rapid expansion of religion has made property rights a central issue for the church. "Christianity is different from Eastern religions in that it requires strong social participation from worshippers, and requires a fixed space for activities, including services and choral singing," he said.

Charitable acts

In its 2015 work plan, SARA said it would encourage the religious groups to undertake charitable acts and provide nursing home services in their dioceses.

Ding said it would be natural for Changzhi diocese to launch a nursing home program because many of the priests, nuns, and lay staff have received training as paramedics. "However, if we are to start a nursing home, we want to make it a professional one, somewhere elderly people will feel at home," he said, adding that the diocese's "good relationship" with the city's religious bureau enables the church to play an active role in social affairs.

"We don't want political power. We spend all our income on social activities, to help children and the disabled. We try to ensure that everything we do is transparent to the authorities and there's nothing mysterious about our activities, so I don't see why we can't all just get along," he said.

The harmonious relationship between the church and local government has been mutually beneficial, and the authorities donated 5 million yuan ($800,000) toward the construction of the main cathedral of the diocese in the north of the city.

According to Song Fuyi, a CPCA priest in urban Changzhi, the growing social acceptability of religion has enabled the church to play a bigger role in society. "Compared with years ago, nowadays there's a marked difference in reaction when you tell people you're a Catholic," he said.

However, despite all the positives, official support from the authorities varies from area to area, and it's impossible for churches to rely on local governments as their main source of income.

Ding said that as one of the oldest dioceses in China, Changzhi is home to a large number of devout people who are willing to devote their time to charitable work. "That means a large number of the congregation is assisting with church activities," he said.

The diocese is spreading the word across China, too: More than 80 priests in Catholic churches nationwide were born in Changzhi, a fact that Ding ascribes to the piety of believers in the city.

Cheng Guoqing said Catholicism has proliferated in the city because of strong religious belief at the family level. "Every member of my family is a Catholic. As believers, we are required to practice what religion teaches in our daily lives. That's how our children follow suit in terms of beliefs," the 64-year-old said.

The city's religious spirit has been strong for a long time, and parents even attempted to pass on their beliefs in secret during the "cultural revolution" when all religious activity was outlawed.

Real estate standoffs

In April, the demolition of the massive Sanjiang church in Wen-zhou, Zhejiang province, prompted international headlines, even though the authorities said the move was aimed at rectifying illegal construction and paving the way for further economic development.

Although Sanjiang is the best-known case, property disagreements between church groups, both Catholic and Protestant, and local authorities have made headlines in a number of provinces.

The Catholic church in Quanzhou, Fujian province, has been in a stand-off with commercial and industrial interests over the fate of a valuable piece of real estate since 2013, according to local media reports.

In Changzhi, the city's Protestants, estimated to number about 10,000, were able to build a new church last year with the help of 9 million yuan donated by the Changzhi City Bureau of Religious Affairs. Li Baohong, a protestant elder, said the new house of worship is the result of decades of effort from worshippers and the clergy after the original church building was commandeered by the local authorities, and.

"The People's Hospital is now located in the building our church occupied. Once the property had been confiscated, it was impossible to get it back. All we could do was push the local authorities to find another place in the city where we could build a church," he said.

Ding said the diocese once owned six properties in Beijing, but they were commandeered during the "cultural revolution", and "so far, we have only been able to get one of them back". It will be impossible to reclaim some of the buildings because they are now occupied by government departments, he said.

Professor Cao - the author of Constructing China's Jerusalem: Christians, Power and Place in Contemporary Wenzhou, an examination of the role of Christianity in modern China - said that during the 1950s and '60s, a large number of churches were razed to make room for government buildings, a policy that has resulted in the problems now faced by Christian denominations nationwide. The issue is much more complex in first-tier cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, where the urbanization process began early and real estate prices are much higher than the national average.

"However, the issue of ownership of church property mainly affects the community services offered by religious groups, who are unlikely to attract new members or offer regular services without a brick and mortar center of activity," he said. "My observation is that the expansion of religion goes hand in hand with a rise in the number of churches."

A lack of regulations or laws to define the types of property religious groups can own is also exacerbating the situation. "The church property issue is important in that a fixed church building would make it easier for church leaders to manage religious activity," Cao said, adding that it would also make it easier for congregations to supervise the use of donations.

The big sticking point, though, is that a fixed location would also make it easier for local authorities to supervise religious activity, something local governments are happy to facilitate, Cao said. "My experience is that the local religious authorities are willing to help with the return of religious property. Officially recognized religious venues are not only their field of responsibility, but they are also a power base."

Contact the writers at [email protected] and [email protected]

Zhao Mengjiao contributed to this story.

Worshippers attend a Mass at a Catholic Church in the urban area of Changzhi, Shanxi province, on Jan 22. Changzhi is one of the oldest Catholic dioceses in China, and its estimated 60,000 followers can worship at more than 70 churches spread across the city's urban and rural areas. Xu Wei / China Daily