Strategic integration: non-formal Catholic religious education in contemporary rural China

In contemporary China’s restrictive policy environment, specifically under the principle of separating religion from education, Catholic lay religious education faces significant institutional challenges. Based on extensive ethnographic research and archival analysis of a rural Catholic community in central China, this article examines how shanghui (上会) – a revived traditional practice – successfully achieves its educational function without triggering political sensitivity. The research reveals that shanghui‘s efficacy stems from ‘strategic integration’: skilfully embedding educational functions within the temporal framework of Spring Festival customs, the sacred space of Catholic liturgy, and the practical field of pastoral care. This multi-dimensional positioning generates a ‘triple legitimacy’, effectively transforming shanghui from potentially controversial ‘religious education’ into culturally acceptable ‘festival gatherings’, liturgically necessary ‘Mass preparation’, and pastorally legitimate ‘faith guidance’. By creating such ‘strategic ambiguity’, the community secures a sustainable space for faith transmission. This study illuminates the remarkable agency, adaptability and creativity of grassroots religious communities within specific socio-political contexts. Ultimately, it challenges the prevailing binary ‘oppression-resistance’ framework, offering new theoretical perspectives on understanding the operational logic of non-formal religious education under restrictive policy constraints.