Seeking Monotheism in Chinese Religions

This Element describes the involvement of Western missionaries in debating the existence of God in various religious texts and practices in ancient China, in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. They examined the idea of God, the Thearch, and Heaven, and addressed the issue of monotheism in the broader Asian context.

List of contents

1. Introduction; 2. Discovering the thearch/god in ancient Chinese civilizations; 3. Monotheism and polytheism: from ancient religion to state religion; 4. Chinese monotheism along the silk road and Indo-European civilizations; 5. From monotheism to polytheism in Chinese history; 6. Chinese religions: the protestant heritage in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries; Bibliography.

Product details

• Authors: Huaiyu Chen, Huaiyu (Arizona State University) Chen
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press ELT
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 30.04.2025
• EAN: 9781009165310
• ISBN: 978-1-0-0916531-0
• No. of pages: 80
• Series: Elements in Religion and Monotheism
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Religion/theology > General, dictionaries; Non-fiction book > Philosophy, religion > Religion: general, reference works; China, RELIGION / General, Religion: general, Christianity, History of Religion, Other non-Christian religions, Other religions and spiritual beliefs