Religion and State in the People’s Republic of China

CSU’s Centre for Public and Contextual Theology will be hosting four international speakers looking at the regulation of religion and issues of religious freedom in contemporary China. 4 April from 3:00pm to 6:30pm at the Chapel at the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture.

The four speakers are J.Gordon Melton (Baylor University), Eileen Barker (Inform), Massimo Introvigne (CESNUR) and Rosita Šoryté (ORLIR).

Prof. J. Gordon Melton

Distinguished Profession of American Religious History, Institute for Studies in Religion, Baylor University (U.S.) How Religious Diversity and Religious Freedom Works in the Peoples Republic of China

Prof. Eileen Barker

Professor Emeritus of Sociology, London School of Economics and Political Science (U.K.),
Director INFORM (Information Network on Religious Movements)

Tyrant or Protector? Why might it make sense for the Chinese People’s Republic to restrict religious freedoms?

Prof. Massimo Introvigne

Managing Director of CESNUR (Centre for Studies of New Religions). “Sinicization” of Religion and Xie Jiao in China: The Persecution of The Church of Almighty God.

Rosita Šoryté

President of ORLIR (International Observatory of Religious Liberty of Refugees). Contested Religion-Based Refugee Claims: The Case of The Church of Almighty God