China
Christianity was introduced to the Lahu in China early in the 20th century when they sent delegates to Burma to inquire about the Christian Faith. By 1936 the number of Lahu Christians was reported to be 33,650 with 100 churches. The number of Lahu Christians declined to about 20,000 in Yunnan during Japanese occupation during World War II, and more fled when Communist forces approached the region.
Living close to the border, there has been ready access to opium among the Lahu villagers in China, with opium addiction causing impoverishment and crimes. Because the government noticed that Lahu Christians generally did not smoke opium, beginning in 1992 the Chinese government facilitated the spread of Christianity among the Lahu. By 1993, it was reported that there were about 50,000 Lahu Christians in China and 24 churches. There has also been spread as some villages noticed the positive economic and health effects Christianity has had on other villages where they had relatives. The willingness of the government to facilitate such conversion is in part due to the ideological belief that monotheism is a natural stepping-stone from polytheism to Communism. At least some of these churches may not have fully absorbed core Christian doctrines such as the Trinity, as they use a term for a lesser deity in reference to Jesus.
Read more about this topic: Lahu Christian Churches
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