Special Providence_ American Foreign Policy and How It Changed World - Walter Russell Mead

156 SPECIALPROVIDENCE

combiningChristianandtraditionalKoreanbeliefs.'4Thisgroupincluded
thewell-knownandcontroversialUnificationChurch,ledbyRev.Sun
MyungMoon.Formostofthetwentiethcentury,thechurchesandtheir
membersplayedmajorpoliticalroles.UndertheJapaneseoccupation,
missionschoolswereamongthefewavenuesopentoKoreanswishingto
escape theJapanese-dominatededucational system,and the churches
werereservoirsofKoreannationalism.DuringandaftertheKoreanWar
thechurchesandtheforeignmissionswereimportantintheconstruc-
tionandstabilizationoftheSouthKorean state,whiletheChristian
churchesplayeda leadingroleinthedemocracymovementthatulti-
matelybroughttheSouthKoreanmilitarydictatorshiptoanend.Ofthe
firsttwoKoreanpresidentselecteddemocraticallythefirst,KimYoung
Sam,wasProtestant,andthesecond,KimDaeJung,wasCatholic.
Althoughthe demographicconsequencesofthe missionaryeffort
inChinawerenotasdramatic,thelong-termconsequencesofmission
activityinChinamaybeevenmoredramaticthaninKorea.Thetradition
ofChinesestudentscomingtoAmericanuniversitiesbeganundermis-
sionaryauspices,andthecontinuingfloodofChinesestudentsintoAmeri-
canuniversitiesfollowingthenormalizationofrelationshasonceagain
resultedintheexposureof,ultimately,hundredsofthousandsofChina's
bestandbrightesttoa widerangeofAmericanideasandinfluences.
TheoverseasChinese,amongwhommissionariesandChinesechurches
continuedtoworkafter 1949,have joinedChristianchurchesinrates
that approachconversionrates inKorea (14percent inSingapore,'5
somewhathigherinIndonesia,theUnitedStates,andVietnam,andsub-
stantiallyhigherinthePhilippines).Thisisnota universaltrend:Only
3.6percentofTaiwan'speoplearenowChristian,andthisfigureincludes
non-Chinesetribalgroups.InHongKongandThailandthepercentage
is similarlylow.,6Allinall,itappearsthatsomethingbetweenfiftyand
onehundredmillionpeopleofChinesedescentaroundtheworldprofess
oneoranotherformofChristianfaith,anumberequaltoorhigherthan
thetotalpopulationofBritainorFranceandsubstantiallylargerthanthe
totalpopulationoftheUnitedStatesatthetimetheAmericanchurches
inauguratedtheirmissionaryprogramtoChina.I7Itisquitepossible
thatinthiscenturythesecommunitieswillhavegreatimpactonthe
religiousandculturalclimatenotonlyofSoutheastAsia,butofChina
itselfandtheentireworld. Anecdotalevidencesuggeststhatdespite
(perhapsbecause of) Communist persecutionofChristiancommuni-
tiesinChina,bothProtestantandCatholicchurchesareexperiencing