Paper short abstract:

This paper examines the structuring of a house church in a globalising China. Drawing on the concept of scale, it argues that a focus on the house church as a localised site of resistance obscures the ways in which Christianity is globalising in China.

Paper long abstract:

This paper examines the structuring of a house church in a globalising China. I draw on ethnographic research conducted in Shanghai and focus on the processes through which a group of overseas Chinese Christians structure a network of house churches. The Christians I discuss are senior executives working in multinational business corporations circulating in the region for work. Drawing on the concept of scale, I demonstrate how this overseas Chinese house church negotiates state regulations and transect city, national and global scales. In doing so, I argue that a focus on the house church as a localised site of resistance obscures the ways in which Christianity in China is globalising and the extent to which religion is a part of a state-driven project to build a modern Chinese nation.