China, Christianity, and the

Dialogue of Civilizations

28th International Conference of

the US-China Catholic Association

Co-sponsored by the Department of Sociology, Santa Clara University

Program Overview

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Friday Evening

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Opening keynote

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Reception to follow

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Friday’s events are free and open to the public upon registration (required for planning)

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Saturday

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Keynote - Ian Johnson, Pulitzer-prize Winning Journalist

Academic Panels

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Keynote - Lü Nan (吕楠), Acclaimed Photographer

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Opening Mass

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Award Banquet Honoring Brent Fulton and Joann Pittman of ChinaSource

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Sunday

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Keynote - Rachel Zhu (朱晓红), Professor of Religious Studies, Fudan University

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Invited Presenter - Chiaretto Yan (甄健湘) Author, International Speaker

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Pastoral & Practical Sessions

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USCCA Conference 28 Interest Form

Registration will open on May 1. In the meantime, fill out this interest form to be kept up-to-date.

Ian Johnson (張彦)

Journalist, Author, Professor

Ian Johnson is a Pulitzer-Prize-winning journalist who lived in China for more than 20 years. A regular contributor to the New York Times, he is the author of Wild Grass: Three Stories of Change in Modern China (Pantheon, 2004) and The Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao (Vintage, 2017), and numerous other publications.

Before the pandemic struck, Johnson spoke at a USCCA event in Chicago, where he explored recent developments in China’s increasingly restrictive policy on religion. In fact, he argued, whereas religion was once marginalized and all but eliminated from public life, it is now back at the center of Chinese society and politics. The country is awash with new temples, churches, and mosques—as well as cults, sects, and politicians trying to harness religion for their own ends. Ironically, the extensive efforts of the party-state to tame and harness religion underscore its centrality.

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In his presentation this August, Johnson will draw on his contacts in China and the latest developments to comment on the place of the Catholic and Protestant communities in society, as well as the impact of government policy on the Church. What difference has Vatican policy made? Is the Chinese Communist Party looking to establish an accord with religion, or to abolish it by force?

Lu Nan (吕楠)

Internationally Acclaimed Photographer

Lu Nan is one of the most respected photographers in China today. After working for China Pictorial (人民画报) for five years, he worked as an independent photographer to produce three series that made his international reputation. The second of these, which documents the lives of Catholics in rural China, includes pictures taken between 1992 and 1996. Many were have been featured in exhibits around the world and have been published in the volume On the Road (在路上). Unrivaled in his capacity to capture and reveal human dignity and the poignancy of the human condition, Lü Nan will speak about his work and his vision as a photographer.

Kin Sheung Chiaretto Yan (甄健湘)

Author, International Speaker

Chiaretto Yan lives in Shanghai. He holds a doctorate in Missiology from the Pontifical Gregorian University (Rome). His primary areas of research are interdisciplinary approaches to the religions and cultures of Asia. He is the author of numerous articles and two books relevant to his this conference, Evangelization in China: Challenges and Prospects (Orbis 2014) and Season for Relationships: Youth in China and the Mission of the Church (Claretian Publications 2018). He will speak about the concerns and challenges facing young people in Chinese society today.

Dr. Rachel Zhu (朱晓红)

Professor and Catholic Public Intellectual

Rachel Zhu (朱晓红) is associate professor and a founding member of the Religious Studies Department at Fudan University, Shanghai. She has written on a wide range of topics, including Christian philosophy, Catholic, the contemporary Church in China, and feminist theology. She contributes regularly to the life of the Church and public life in Shanghai, as well as in the worldwide Church community.

Ricci Award Banquet

Brent Fulton

ChinaSource

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Joann Pittman

ChinaSource

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This year the USCCA is proud to honor Brent Fulton and Joann Pittman of ChinaSource as co-recipients of the China Association’s Matteo Ricci Award for Service of God and China.

The Matteo Ricci Award Banquet may be booked separately from the conference.