China’s Indwelling Spirit

China's Indwelling Spirit is a one-of-a-kind study of Chinese religions and Pentecostal Christianity from a scholar who brings a depth of expertise that is truly rare in comparative work. In examining the theological underpinnings of the work of Pentecostal missionaries in Republican China, this book is an unparalleled exercise in inter-religious dialogue. Arguing that Pentecostal missionaries did not bring a new form of spirituality into China, but rather reinforced and re-presented existing beliefs and embedded values and practices, Joel D. Daniels uncovers the roots of how and why Pentecostal spirituality grew with such voracity in China. In so doing, he takes readers on a journey that explores why our religious beliefs and rituals take root in some places rather than others, how different theological traditions make sense of spirits-filled and Spirit-filled religious experience, and what they share in common that has spoken to people around the globe, in different times and places. Erin M. Cline, Senior Research Fellow, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University This book explores why Pentecostal Christianity has flourished in China more than nearly any other imported religious movement. Tracing its origins from the arrival of the first Pentecostal missionaries in 1907, this study shows how Pentecostal spirituality, particularly when experiential, emotional, and centered on the Holy Spirit, deeply resonated with Chinese cultural and religious traditions. This book argues that Pentecostalism succeeded in China because it both affirmed core values found in Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism, and harmonized with elements of Chinese popular religion.Joel D. Daniels (Ph.D. Georgetown University) has worked in academics and ministry for over twenty years, serving as a church planter, pastor, professor, and college chaplain. His research focuses on global Pentecostalism, mysticism, psychology and religion, East Asian philosophy, and religious interaction.