China's Church Divided

China's Church Divided

From Pekingology by Center for Strategic and International Studies

January 8, 2026 · 40 min

About this episode

This episode discusses the complexities of the Catholic Church in China and its relationship with the Communist Party and the Vatican.

In this episode of Pekingology, CSIS Senior Fellow Henrietta Levin is joined by Paul Mariani, Professor at Santa Clara University and author of the new book, China’s Church Divided: Bishop Louis Jin and the Post-Mao Catholic Revival. Paul unpacks the Communist Party's views on religion, how the Catholic Church navigated the turbulent politics of 1980's China, and why the Vatican has renewed a controversial deal with Beijing.

People in this episode

Host: Henrietta Levin

Guest: Paul Mariani

Topics covered

  • religion
  • Catholic Church
  • China politics
  • Vatican relations
  • post-Mao era

Keywords

  • China
  • Catholic Church
  • Communist Party
  • Vatican
  • religion
  • politics
  • Paul Mariani

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Santa Clara University, Communist Party

Books & works: China’s Church Divided: Bishop Louis Jin and the Post-Mao Catholic Revival

Places: China, Vatican

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