Episode 11: China and the Catholic Church: Education and inculturation are building a global society

Welcome to La Civiltà Cattolica’s podcast. Fr Michael Kelly in conversation with Fr You Guo Jiang, SJ a teacher at Boston College who researches and writes on education, global engagement, student development, spirituality and Christianity in China. This includes biographical articles on prominent Chinese Christians such as Ma Xiangbo, founder of Fudan University, Shanghai and the famous jurist, Wu Ching Hsiung who helped draft China’s first constitution. This conversation reveals the contours and the shape of Chinese engagement with Christianity. We hear about the themes and topics of Jiang’s research and the central message of this body of work. “The role of Jesuit education, or any education, is not just to teach you a skill or give you a degree or diploma but to form the whole person. In that way we combine the science, technology and the humanities for personal formation” This podcast conversation explains how these concepts are received, especially if they are expressed in Chinese by and for Chinese. “Visiting China and meeting with students and parents I try to promote this idea: what kind of person or citizen do you want to be. How can you make a difference?” Jiang wants young people to consider: “What sort of impact you will have on the world – will you help create a harmonious society, with love justice and concern for your neighbors, people less advantaged or marginalized?” “Education is not just about status, ranking. How do we make education an instrument to make the world a better place?” he tells us. Western Christians have often not understood China and the Chinese, and attempting to engage often imposed their own culture on their understanding of how Christianity is to be accepted “Throughout China and Asia we often hear this term inculturation. East and West must sit down and dialogue, communicate and negotiate…. We need to build a global society where everyone feels they are part of a big family” East and West, religions, people, groups, politicians must seek mutual understand: “We need open, peaceful and transparent dialogue” Listen as two Jesuits, one Eastern, one Western engage with respect and an understanding of the other’s heritage. Michael Kelly, SJ is the publisher of the English language edition of the 171-year-old Jesuit periodical La Civiltà Cattolica, published in English since 2017 and available in Italian, French, Russian, Spanish, Japanese, Korean and Chinese apart from English. Image Courtesy: Sam Zhai / The Heights Anchored by Robert Barber and produced by Binu Alex for La Civiltà Cattolica