Exporting Progressivism to Communist China

Using new archival research, this book shows how Union Theological Seminary exported progressive Christianity to Communist China. Founded in 1836, the New York seminary disseminated its version of Christianity to China through its alumni. From 1911 to 1949, 196 Union alumni went to China. Thirty-nine of these former students were Chinese nationals. Many of these Chinese students—such as Y. T. Wu (Wu Yaozong), K. H. Ting (Ding Guangxun), John Sung (Song Shangjie), and Timothy Tingfang Lew (Liu Tingfang)—became key leaders in the Sino-Foreign Protestant Establishment and the Three-Self Patriotic Movement. The school became a dense hub of influential Chinese and American Christians. Union’s role in liberalizing and indigenizing Christianity in twentieth-century China has been largely unnoticed, until now.

A native of Texas, Christopher D. Sneller has lived and taught in East Asia, North America, and Western Europe. He is a lecturer in missional theology at Houston Christian University and the director of innovation at Bridges International. Under the supervision of Prof. Alister McGrath, his Ph.D dissertation explored the impact of Union Theological Seminary (NY) on Christianity in twentieth-century China. Chris resides in Houston, TX, with his wife, six children, and two dogs. He loves to travel (40 countries and counting), attempt CrossFit workouts, and support Arsenal FC.



Alister McGrath teaches theology at Oxford University and at Regent College, Vancouver, B.C. His many books include 'Justitia Dei: A History of the Christian Doctrine of Justification', 'Luther's Theology of the Cross' and 'Bridge Building: Effective Christian Apologetics'. He is also the editor of 'The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Modern Christian Thought'.