Christian Activism in the Hong Kong Pro-Democracy Movement: A History from 1984 to 2019

Abstract

Churches in Hong Kong have served as contractors to the state since its British colonization. To secure their political and social privileges, these churches have often been fashioned into apologists for the state. This mentality was not widely challenged until the 1980s. Since the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration, some Hong Kong church leaders, theologians, and laypeople have started to articulate a democratic vision for civil society. This paper employs the notion of “religious activism” as an analytical framework to examine the role of Hong Kong Christianity in the pro-democracy movement. The influential voices and actions of Christians in 1984, 1989, 2003, 2014, and 2019 are chronologically summarized. Each political event triggered divergent reflections on the political participation of Christians. This paper offers an analysis of genealogical narratives of Christian activism and offers a prediction on the future of this political participation, particularly under the imposition of the National Security Law.