The Kingdom of Heaven's Long March: Christianity and the Public Sphere in Modern China

From Jesuit efforts to woo the Ming and Qing dynasties’ imperial courts and scholar-officials, to the early twentieth century Protestant educationalists promotion of the modernization of state and society, and on to recent cases of the house churches sometimes contentious relations with the communist government, Christians in China have regularly advocated for varying degrees of freedom for themselves and for others. By examining a few key moments in the history of the Church in China, as well as the challenges posed by secular nationalism, this talk examines the role Christians have played in developing a public sphere a China. Jeff Kyong-McClain is an associate professor of history and the director of the Habib Institute for Asian Studies at the University of Idaho. His research interests include the history of missions and higher education in China. Recently, he co-edited From Missionary Education to Confucius Institutes: Historical Reflections on Sino-American Cultural Exchange and is a co-organizer of “Crossing Boundaries and Christianity in the Sinophone World,” a conference to be held at Hong Kong Baptist University this December. Part of the Kennedy Center's fall 2026 lecture series, "Religion, Identity, and Public Life."