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Taiwan 2002 |
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Religion |
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ChristianityBefore 1945Christianity came to Taiwan with the Dutch in 1624. The first missionary in Taiwan was Georgius Candidius of the Reformed Church of Holland. Six Pingpu 平埔 aborigine communities near modern day Tainan were the center of his mission activities. (The Pingpu tribe was later assimilated by Han settlers.) Robert Bunius continued Candidius's mission work in southern Taiwan, where he lived for 14 years. By 1643, over 6,000 aborigines have been converted to Christianity. Mass conversions were typical of his evangelistic style. In 1626, a Spaniard, Father Martinez, in the company of Spanish troops, brought with him four Dominican missionaries from the Philippines to the Keelung and Tamsui areas to do mission work. The Spanish army occupied a portion of northern Taiwan, and ruled there for 16 years. Missionaries actively spread Roman Catholicism at this time, during which they won approximately 4,000 aborigines over to their faith. In 1642, the Dutch forces occupying southern Taiwan pushed northward to rout the Spaniards, arresting them and driving them out of Taiwan. It is not known what became of the Roman Catholic converts, since no trace of them was to be found. All that remains from this period of Roman Catholic missionary activity are a few historical records. By the time the Chinese general Koxinga drove the Dutch off the island, this scantily documented page in the history of Christianity in Taiwan had more or less come to an end. By 1714, when the Roman Catholic Jesuits came to Taiwan for map-making, they found a few descendants of these early Christians who had still preserved some remnants of their forebears' beliefs. In 1859, the Spanish Dominican Father Fernando Sainz and Father Angel Bofurull arrived in Kaohsiung from the Philippines via Amoy, and founded the first Roman Catholic church in Kaohsiung, the Holy Rosary Church. Father Sainz later conducted mission work in the Kaohsiung, Tainan, and Pingtung areas. In 1861, he founded the Immaculate Conception Church in what today is Wanchin Village 萬金村 in Wanluan. This is the oldest extant Roman Catholic church in Taiwan. In 1860, British missionaries Reverend Carstairs Douglas and Reverend H.L. Mackenzie came to Tamsui and Mengchia 艋舺 (present-day Wanhua in Taipei) to preach the gospel. In 1864, Dr. James L. Maxwell was officially sent to Taiwan by the English Presbyterian Mission to preach Christianity. With Tainan as his base, he concentrated his efforts in southern Taiwan. In 1872, the Canadian Presbyterian Church dispatched George L. Mackay to northern Taiwan to do mission work, choosing Tamsui as his center. Prior to the Japanese occupation of Taiwan in 1895, there were 97 Protestant churches, 4,854 believers, about 90 mission workers, and 13 foreign missionaries in Taiwan. During the period of Japanese occupation, the colonial government exercised control over churches and had them absorb Japanese Christian groups. The Japanese also strictly forbade Christian mission work among the aborigines. When the Japanese left in 1945, Taiwan had about 238 Protestant churches and 60,000 believers. Roman Catholicism also experienced a relatively slow development during the Japanese occupation. Some theorize that this was due to suppression by the Japanese colonial government; however, there is no concrete evidence to support this. By 1945, there were only about 10,000 Roman Catholics (some records report 8,000), 52 churches or missions, and 20 missionaries in Taiwan.
Protestant ChurchChristianity in Taiwan developed in a new direction after the mainland fell to communism and the central government relocated to Taiwan in 1949. Churches of numerous denominations flocked to Taiwan, and the number of Christian denominations active in Taiwan went from just three in 1945 to approximately 40 in 1955.Taiwan's Protestant churches experienced rapid growth between 1950 and 1964, but after the mid-1960s, they entered a phase of sluggish and even negative growth. By 2000, the congregation had expanded to approximately 593,000 with 3,875 churches, 2,554 ministers and 1,109 foreign ministers. Although the tradition of foreign Protestant missionary work can be traced back for centuries in Taiwan, the means of spreading the teachings has moved from providing relief goods in the 1950s, offering social services in the 60s and 70s, to a revived focus on the Biblical message. Deeming the traditional Chinese practice of ancestral worship incompatible with the Gospel, Protestants suggest the followers to pray "for" their ancestors instead of "to" them, while emphasizing the Fifth Commandment: "Honor thy father and mother." On June 1, 2001, the 100th anniversary of George L. Mackay's death, a commemorative stamp was issued in his honor. His diary was also translated into Chinese and published in 12 volumes the same month. Dr. Mackay's collection of aboriginal artifacts, which was considered the finest of the pre-Japanese colonial era, was loaned by the Royal Ontario Museum for exhibition at the Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines 順益台灣原住民博物館 between June 2 and September 13, 2001. Mackay's degree of assimilation and marriage to a local Chinese, to the shock of his contemporary Westerners, has distinguished him from many other missionaries in Taiwan and his influence on his wife's relatives has resulted in the Chen family's participation sin the development of the Presbyterian Church on the island. To honor his contributions and dedication to Taiwan, a street in Tamsui is named after Mackay, one of the only three foreigners commemorated in this way on the island besides President Roosevelt and General MacArthur of the US.
Roman Catholic ChurchRoman Catholicism made a remarkable comeback in Taiwan after the island was returned to the Republic of China. In 1948, the number of believers stood at 13,000. When the central government moved to Taiwan in 1949, multitudes of Roman Catholic clergy and believers followed, infusing Roman Catholicism in Taiwan with new strength and vigor. The number of converts grew rapidly in the 1953-1963 period, from 27,000 to 300,000. The number of practicing Roman Catholics peaked in 1969, when the total reached nearly 306,000, and seven dioceses were formed: the Taipei archdiocese, and the Hsinchu, Taichung, Chiayi, Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Hualien dioceses. Since then, the Roman Catholic church of Taiwan has faced a period of slow growth. As of 2000, there were 1,193 Catholic churches, 693 clergymen, and 664 foreign missionaries in Taiwan serving about 298,000 believers.On January 18, 1998, Bishop Paul Shan 單國璽 of the Catholic diocese in Kaohsiung was appointed to the status of cardinal by Pope John Paul II. Shan officially assumed this position on February 21, when the College of Cardinals congregated at the Vatican. He is the only Taiwanese to be conferred the title of cardinal in the past 20 years and is the fifth Chinese cardinal in the history of the Roman Catholic Church. The last cardinal from Taiwan was Cardinal Yu Pin 于斌, who was elevated to cardinal status in Nanjing before he relocated to Taiwan in 1950. Among the leading schools founded by the Catholic church in Taiwan are Fu Jen Catholic University, the Cardinal Tien School of Nursing & Midwifery 耕莘高級護理助產職業學校, the Blessed Imelda's School 靜修女子高級中學, the Kuang Jen Middle School 光仁中學 and Kuang Jen Primary School 光仁小學, Providence University 靜宜大學, Taichung Viator High School 台中市私立衛道高級中學, and the Wentsao Ursuline College of Modern Languages 文藻外國語文學院.
Independent ChurchesWhile mainstream Protestant churches and the Roman Catholic Church have enjoyed a head start in their evangelical work, independent churches are also growing consistently by emphasizing fundamentalist theology, flexible administration, and self-supporting financial power. Popular independent churches include the True Jesus Church, the Mandarin Church, and the Ling Leung Church.The first missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the Mormon Church, arrived in Taiwan in 1956. By 1963, the book of the Mormon Church had been translated from English into Chinese by Hu Wei-I 胡唯一, and a branch of the Mormon Church had been established locally. Since then, the Mormon gospel has been spread to the most remote reaches of Taiwan. In most areas, foreign missionaries also offer free English conversation classes to the public, and a handful of full-time church workers provide assistance to those in need. Although assisted by a steady rotation of foreign missionaries, all Mormon churches in Taiwan are headed by local Chinese leaders. The Jehovah's Witnesses came to Taiwan in 1950 and registered with the MOI in 1964. In the past 50 years, many foreign missionaries have come to Taiwan to preach the doctrines of the Jehovah's Witnesses. Though a relatively small group of only around 4,000 followers, the faithful have remained true in carrying out their religion's teachings, including the doctrine of opposing war and violence. As a result, many conscripts of Jehovah's Witnesses have chosen to serve prison terms instead of complying with mandatory ROC military service laws. Promulgation of the Alternative Military Service Act 替代役實施條例 has provided a solution to this problem and on December 10, 2000, President Chen pardoned 19 conscientious objectors. The Unification Church, registered as the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity, came to Taiwan in 1971. Mass weddings are a special tradition of the Unification Church. "Blessing '98," in which 120 million married couples reaffirmed their marriage vows, was held on June 13, 1998, at Madison Square Garden in New York City with the Rev. Sun Myung Moon and several world religious leaders presiding. Six hundred and twenty-three unwed youths from Taiwan participated in this event.
Social ServicesVarious international Christian organizations have established branches in Taiwan. Working with local groups that have sprung up, these organizations provide a network of welfare and social services to various target groups in society. World Vision of Taiwan has been instrumental in providing aboriginal and child welfare; Campus Crusade and Navigators are active on college campuses; the Garden of Hope Foundation 勵馨基金會 runs halfway houses for teenage prostitutes; Mackay Counseling Center 馬偕協談中心 offers family and psychological counseling services; and Cathwel Service 財團法人天主教未婚媽媽之家 and Christian Salvation Service provide assistance for unwed mothers.With the increasing number of foreign workers in Taiwan, there have been occasional disputes with their local employers. As there were 88,773 Filipinos and 10,519 Vietnamese working in Taiwan by July 2001, eight temporary shelters have been set up by church groups to accommodate and assist them in emergency situations. The Catholic Church has set up one shelter in Taoyuan, Chungli, Hsinchu, Taichung, and Taipei City each, as well as one in Miaoli County. The Council of Labor Affairs intended to subsidize their expenses, but it is constrained by a limited budget. Two shelters were also set up in Kaohsiung City to serve 6,105 Filipinos and 480 Vietnamese workers in the area, and one of them currently receives a subsidy from the Kaohsiung City government. Christian missions, along with their evangelical intent, have contributed to Taiwan's education and social work as well. As of 2000, the Roman Catholic Church operated one seminary, three universities, one junior college, 25 high schools, 10 elementary schools, 202 kindergartens, four orphanages, 14 retirement homes, six rehabilitation centers, 26 centers for the mentally retarded, six handicapped welfare institutions, one institute for spreading church teachings, 11 hospitals, 11 clinics, and nine publishing houses. Protestants are involved with 29 seminaries, six universities, one junior college, eight high schools, one elementary school, 46 kindergartens, four nurseries, seven orphanages, three retirement homes, three rehabilitation centers, four centers for the mentally retarded, six handicapped welfare institutes, one institute for evangelizing, 14 hospitals, 15 clinics, four libraries, and 78 publishing houses producing 52 publications.
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