While the Diocesan delegation was visiting China, the current Asian edition of Newsweek featured a cover story on Christians in China. It seemed to be quite a propitious coincidence that this issue would be published as we were in China to learn more about the Chinese Christian Church.

The magazine, which was widely available in all the cities we visited, was extremely critical of the Chinese government’s policy toward religion. The article focused on underground Christian movements, mainly outside of metropolitan areas, that, for unexplained reasons, did not register with the government or were not accepted for registration and were therefore targets of prosecution. There were stories of bulldozed churches and meeting places, and imprisoned worshippers, all victims of the anti-religion policies of the national government. Accompanying the article were spooky pictures that looked to be taken in the middle of the night with infrared light, featuring Chinese Christians participating in what looked like strange, underground rituals. It seemed as if the images could have been from either the 21st century or the 11th because of their remote settings and archaic feel.

The problem was that the article played effortlessly into the misconceptions some Americans, Westerners and/or non-Chinese have about religion and forms of self-expression in post-reformist China. Reading such an article while visiting the leaders, pastors and members of the Christian Church in China only accentuated for me — and others in the Diocesan delegation — the unprofessional bias and unnecessary haranguing of a journalist who had failed to address the churches in China that are perfectly legal and very much Christian in all senses of the word.

Visiting Christian churches in China broadens one’s perspectives and eliminates these preconceived notions of religious repression. On the 10-day journey, the delegation visited with many Christians whose work, dedication and spirit have helped to create the thriving Church that exists today. Everywhere we visited, the stories were the same: churches were crowded with worshippers, the numbers of communicants were rapidly increasing, church schools were filled to capacity with eager students and printing presses were churning out thousands of Bibles and other religious materials daily.

And seeing such vitality in a Church first-hand is what ultimately reveals that such religious belief is motivated spiritually and not politically. Meeting with seminarians and ordained clergy in the China Christian Council (CCC) was especially telling. They had a great desire to teach the Christian faith and to be of service to the Church and its members. They felt they had a way of life that others in their country should know about, and they were all very serious about making sure they introduced everyone to the fundamentals of Christianity. Their passion and dedication were unmistakable.

While there is a serious lack of clergy, those who are ordained are in general well educated, having studied similar curricula to what is taught in American seminaries, and representatives of the CCC expressed genuine interest in working with the Episcopal Diocese of New York and other organizations to provide further training in the United States to Chinese theology students and seminarians.

The churches we visited were filled with worshippers, singing hymns in Chinese whose melodies would be familiar to American churchgoers. Hymnals and prayer books were available for all attendees.

In short, the experiences we had of the Church in the major cities of China were not very different from those we would have in New York. Yes, there are still the problems of too few clergy and too few churches, but overall it seemed reasonably easy to be a practicing Christian (even attending Anglican-style services) in China, without resorting to underground and illegal churches.

The leaders of the Christian Church, who welcomed the delegation with generous hospitality, were very interested in learning more about the Episcopal Church, its structure, liturgy and history. They hope to use this knowledge as they mold this post-denominational Church into a cohesive institution. The Church leaders readily admit to the challenges they and the Church face, and they are actively searching for ways to address such challenges.

As well, the government officials in charge of religion, specifically Ye Xiao Wen, the head of the State Administration for Religious Affairs, seemed genuinely interested in the growth and vitality of the Christian Church.

Most of all, however, those we met were interested in spreading the word about the true situation in China today. As Christian leaders attempt to construct a post-denominational Church, and as government officials work to open the country to greater freedoms, continued criticism and false accusations by people from outside of the country — especially those who haven’t even visited — only serve to hinder what is a positive and on-going change in China.

Yes, the concept of “freedom of religion” is quite different in the United States than it is in China. But, maybe, instead of being poised to criticize other governments and their policies, we should be more aware of the different practices in other countries, and the reasoning and history behind them.