Upcoming Talks
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Hong Kong Christianities and Civic Life
Date: October 23, 2026
Time: 10:30 am Hong Kong Time (10/24) ; 9:30 pm Central Time; 10:30 pm Eastern Time; 7:30 pm Pacific Time
Speaker: Ann Gillian Chu, Chinese University of Hong Kong
Discussant: Chit Wai Mok, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Registration Required
This book explores Protestant Christianity in Hong Kong through an ethnographic study of Hong Kong Christians at a time of societal change (2013-2014 and 2019-2020). Revealing how selected published theologians and average lay Christians in Hong Kong understand ideas of democracy, human rights, civic identity, and civil disobedience, this book draws on the works of Hong Kong theologians, alongside the lay theologies of Hong Kong Christian interview participants and, by extension, those in the diaspora. It provides a critical examination of how pro-democracy and pro-establishment Christians understand and negotiate the relationship between national identity, democratic values, and Christian convictions. The book also explores the concept of the ‘third way’ for Hong Kong Christians, an alternative space than either pro-establishment or pro-democracy Christians, ultimately revealing that human rights and democracy concepts cannot be understood in the same way in Hong Kong as in Western contexts.
Speaker
Ann Gillian Chu is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Cultural and Religious Studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, a Visiting Research Fellow at the Centre for Religion and Public Life at the University of Leeds, and a Research Fellow at the Centre for Applied Ethics at Hong Kong Baptist University. Her academic interests include on Hong Kong Christianities, theological ethics, and sociology of religion. Her latest open access monograph, funded by Hong Kong Baptist University, is titled Hong Kong Christianities and Civic Life (Routledge, 2026).
Discussant
Chit-Wai MOK is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Applied Social Sciences at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He specializes in the sociology of organization/institution, religion, and culture. One of his ongoing projects examines how Roman Catholic practitioners in contemporary China navigate competing institutional demands.
More to Come
To Be Announced.