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Protestant Community

RELIGION AND CUSTOM

The presence of the Protestant community dates back to 1841. The earliest established denominations were the Anglicans, the Baptists, the Congregationalists, the Lutherans and the Methodists.

In the 147 years since the first Protestant church came into being in Hong Kong, the Protestant community has grown to 215 000 in 630 congregations among the 52 denomina- tions and independent churches. The largest denomination in Hong Kong is the Baptist, followed by the Lutheran. Other major denominations are the Adventist, the Anglican, the Christian and Missionary Alliance, the Church of Christ in China, the Methodist and the Pentecostal. With their emphasis on youth work, many congregations have a high proportion of young people. Since the seventies, the number of independent churches has increased significantly due to the strong evangelical zeal of the lay Christians.

The Protestant church runs three post-secondary colleges, 115 secondary schools, 156 primary schools, 159 kindergartens, seven hospitals, 24 clinics, 159 social service centres, 27 homes for the elderly, three schools for the deaf, 10 training centres for the mentally handicapped, and 17 theological seminaries and Bible institutes. There are also four international hotel-type guest houses operated by the YMCA and the YWCA.

There are 36 para-church agencies and various Christian action groups which have been established to minister to the needs of the Protestant community and also to respond to current issues and concerns in Hong Kong society at large. The church is also involved in overseas aid, supporting emergency relief and development projects in third world countries. The 'Five Loaves and Two Fish Campaign' sponsored by the Hong Kong Christian Council was the first overseas aid project in Hong Kong.

There are two ecumenical bodies which facilitate the co-operative work among the Protestant churches. The oldest of the two, dating back to 1915, is the Hong Kong Chinese Churches Union. About 200 congregations make up the membership of the Churches Union. The Churches Union publishes the newspaper Christian Weekly, which has a wide circulation among the Protestant congregations. The second co-operative body is the Hong Kong Christian Council, formed in 1954. The Christian Council bases its membership on the major mainline denominations and ecumenical services bodies. It is committed to building closer relationships among all churches in Hong Kong as well as with churches overseas, and to stimulating local Christians to play a part in the development of Hong Kong society. It also seeks to serve the wider community through member agencies such as Hong Kong Christian Service, the Christian Industrial Committee, the United Christian Medical Service, the Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital, and the Christian Family Service Centre. The council runs alternative tours each Wednesday which give both visitors and residents an opportunity to see how the church is serving the community.

In the area of social concern, the Protestant community has played an active role in arousing public interest in the future development of Hong Kong and in the drafting of the Basic Law. It has also spoken up on such issues as labour welfare and education reform.

Muslim Community

There are about 50 000 Muslims in Hong Kong. More than half of them are Chinese with the rest being either locally born non-Chinese or believers from Pakistan, India, Malaysia, Indonesia and Middle Eastern and African countries. Three principal mosques are used daily for prayers. The oldest is the Jamia Mosque in Shelley Street on Hong Kong Island which was built before the turn of the century and rebuilt in 1915. It can accommodate a congregation of 400.