Kniha si klade za cíl představit českému čtenáři situaci a vývoj katolické církve v Čínské lidové republice od jejího založení v roce 1949 až po současnost (2022). Vedle historického kontextu poskytuje také novodobé poznatky o čínských katolících. Zabývá se nejen různorodými skupinami katolíků, které se nacházejí na území Čínské lidové republiky a spadající do oficiálního, státem povoleného Vlasteneckého sdružení čínských katolíků, ale také věřícími v takzvané podzemní církvi, která není čínskými orgány povolena. Kniha popisuje politická a sociální dilemata, jimž církev čelí pod vedením Komunistické strany Číny. ,The book introduces the situation and development of the Catholic Church in the People's Republic of China from its foundation in 1949 to the present (2022). It provides both historical context and contemporary information about the Chinese Catholics. It examines the diverse groups of Catholics established in the territory of the People's Republic of China belonging to both the official state-run Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association and believers in the so-called underground church, which is not sanctioned by the Chinese authorities. The book examines the political and social dilemmas facing the church under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party.
This article aims to critically evaluate the current state of research into the Protestant and Catholic Churches in the Chinese context. It introduces two main academic discourses on Christianity in China; it also mentions some challenges connected to the use of the triple-market approach proposed by Yang Fenggang, and extensively used by many scholars of Chinese religions today. Instead of employing the market approach, I believe in the need to confront the main discourses with empirical data. In the article, I use the example of the official Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, which is categorised as a "red" religious market supporting communist rule. As such, the churches united under this body are often neglected by researchers, as they are perceived as "unproblematic" – and, therefore, do not support the narrative of Christian groups victimized by the Chinese government. Nonetheless, the Christian churches (or any religious groups within the "red" market) need our scholarly attention, as choosing cooperation instead of opposition is not unproblematic – and various processes of negotiation between a religious group and the government should be included in the research.