Liu Institute Series in Chinese Christianities

A new book series by Notre Dame Press in collaboration with the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies will examine several denominations of Christianity in modern China. The Liu Institute Series in Chinese Christianities launched in fall 2021 with Schism: Seventh-day Adventism in Post-Denominational China by Christie Chui-Shan Chow.

It is expected that nine books will follow, released approximately one per year. Alexander Chow, senior lecturer in theology and world Christianity at the University of Edinburgh, serves as the series editor.

“This series fits perfectly into the mission and programming of the Liu Institute, and we are honored to partner with Notre Dame Press for these important examinations of Christianity in China,” said Michel Hockx, director of the Liu Institute. “We understand the crucial importance of religion in Asia and have hosted expert lectures on Catholicism in China in particular. This series will expand our focus to other denominations and their significance in China and its diaspora.”

Christianity is the fastest-growing religion in mainland China and a large, linguistically and culturally diverse Chinese diaspora, which encompasses more than a fifth of the world’s population. Still, the academic world has been slow to take into account the role of Chinese Christians and their distinctly Chinese interpretation of Christianity in examining world Christianity. This series will feature titles that offer new perspectives on the vast and expanding field of Chinese Christianities in all their diverse forms, providing a forum for cross-disciplinary conversation.

Books are welcome to this open series from a variety of disciplinary approaches, including but not limited to historical, theological, social scientific, and sinological perspectives.


Dual Book Launch (2024)

"Following Christ and Confucius: Wang Mingdao and Chinese Christianity" by Christopher Payk

Following Christ and Confucius is the first full-length critical biography and theological analysis of Wang Mingdao, the spiritual father of China’s House Church Movement. 

"Protestant Missionaries in China: Robert Morrison and Early Sinology" by Jonathan A. Seitz

Engaging and well-researched, Protestant Missionaries in China explores the impact of Robert Morrison and his contemporaries on early sinology, mission work, and Chinese Christianity during the three decades before the start of the Opium Wars.

The Liu Institute and Notre Dame Press launched the two publications on April 9, 2024, with a virtual panel cosponsored by Notre Dame's Ansari Institute for Global Engagement with Religion and the Department of Theology. The virtual panel discussion featured both authors (Payk and Seitz), Christie Chui-Shan Chow, author of the previous book in the series, Schism: Seventh-day Adventism in Post-Denominational China, and book series editor Alexander Chow, University of Edinburgh, and was hosted at the Taiwan Theological College and Seminary.

Inaugural Book Launch (2021)

"Schism: Seventh-day Adventism in Post-Denominational China" by Christie Chui-Shan Chow

Schism is the first monograph that documents the life of the Chinese Adventist denomination from the mid-1970s to the 2010s, and explores how Chinese Seventh-day Adventists have used schism as a tool to retain, revive, and recast their unique ecclesial identity in a religious habitat that resists diversity. The Liu Institute and Notre Dame Press launched Schism on October 15, 2021, with a panel discussion featuring the author Christie Chui-Shan Chow as well as series editor Alexander Chow, discussant Christopher White, and moderator Alexander Hsu.