J.C. Comeau #8, Religion in China

I recently read an article in The Economist about the rise of religion in communist China.  They listed off several surprising statistics, saying that the Christian population there now rivals that of the communist party.  That both home churches and state sponsored churches are growing.  In a nation where seemingly every effort was made to eliminate religion, religion prevailed.  In “Myth Became Fact”, Lewis talks about the unique quality of myth, that it gives meaning to abstract notions of right and wrong.  He said that the Christian story, as true myth, gives a certain sense of meaning to our lives.  I do not think that the Chinese government recognized this power of myth or this necessity for meaning.  In a society where science seeks to explain away everything, meaning would be lost.  The Christian church, as well as other faiths, offered something that the communist party could not: they offered meaning.  And as a myth became fact, the church offered a story, meaning, and truth that could not be easily quelled.