Christianity and Cultural Conflict in China

By Dorothy Lau

Lord, make us servants of your peace:

Where there is despair, let us sow hope

Where there is darkness, let us sow light

Where there are tears, let us sow joy…

(adapted from the Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi)

Mary and George, married for a couple of years, were expecting their first baby, already identified as a boy, in a month's time. George came from a Chinese village with a strong tradition of rites and rituals based on Chinese beliefs. Both George and Mary were blessed with aged parents, who looked forward to their first grandson.

In Chinese culture, as in other cultures, the first boy is important because he has the right of inheritance. Mary, by giving birth to a boy, the first grandson of her parents-in-law, would raise her status in the extended family.

On the day of delivery, for reasons unknown, Mary gave birth to a stillborn baby boy.   Of course the atmosphere in the family changed from joy to sadness. With the loss of her son, Mary was in pain physiologically and psychologically, mentally and emotionally. The parents-in-law, apart from their grief at losing a grandson, believed that they had lost face among their relatives and friends. Mary's status in the family suffered also.

Given that Mary had experienced a full-term pregnancy and a natural delivery, the traditions of the village required her to go through a full set of ritual procedures, including cleansing of the body with Chinese herbs and medicine, and she had to have one month's rest. (The Chinese believe that a pregnant woman must have a month to recuperate, or her second pregnancy will be affected.) Following the traditions was especially important for Mary. If she had not followed the traditions, and if she were not able to give birth to another baby, she would be blamed by the family. Also, for Mary, that one month of leave would cover a period of grief and mourning. Her parents-in-law demanded a month's leave from her employers.

The demand of the family conflicted with the terms of the employment contract between Mary and the organization that employed her. According to those terms, a woman was given ten weeks paid maternity leave after the birth of a child – a living child. The terms of the contract made no exception for situations like Mary's. Instead of Mary being qualified for maternity leave, she was entitled to one day of sick leave. She was supposed to return to work after being discharged from the hospital, the day after the stillbirth. Mary's supervisor, Anne, considered the denial of leave a straightforward decision, based upon the terms of the contract, because Mary had not given birth to a child according to the contract's definition of “a child.” There were no precedents allowing Anne to make a different decision.

The Christian organization that employed Mary was concerned about doing justice as well as about following rules. . . She was experiencing the physical pain of the delivery and the psychological pain of guilt. She feared losing her job and the possibility of having to refund to her employers one month's salary in lieu of notice.

The Christian organization that employed Mary was concerned about doing justice as well as about following rules. The personnel committee interviewed Mary, wanting to listen to her story and to let her know that she was cared for as a person. Throughout the interview, Mary was crying. She was mourning the loss of her baby. She was experiencing the physical pain of the delivery and the psychological pain of guilt. She feared losing her job and the possibility of having to refund to her employers one month's salary in lieu of notice.

The committee reviewed Mary's application for the leave together with Anne's recommendation. Anne had followed the terms and the jurisdiction given her. There was no tradition in the organization for her to draw upon on and definitely no previous experience to back her up had she recommended that maternity leave be granted. Anne would have been challenged both for making a decision that contradicted the terms of the contract and for overstepping her authority by changing the rules. Anne was also in need of support in decision-making.

Apart from being sympathetic about Mary's loss, how was the committee going to make a just decision as a Christian organization?

At the personnel committee meeting, members tried to give pastoral care to Mary. They reconsidered the definition of maternity leave. They discussed the difference between giving birth to a living child and to a stillborn baby in terms of the delivery process and in the way the babies are perceived. Special consideration was given to Mary's situation in terms of her traditional Chinese culture and the Christian tradition of the organization. Fairness had to be considered for Mary in terms of her rights and equality, a balance found between Mary's human rights as a person and the contract as a regulation. What are the roots for decision within a Christian organization? How may the organization proclaim the gospel to Mary, to Anne, and to others through its decision? How do we all understand and interpret the Gospel in the cultural context of Mary and in the organizational culture of Anne?

The decision was eventually made. With the consent of Anne, Mary was granted one full month's paid maternity leave with full recognition of her entitlement to sick leave. As proposed by Anne, the personnel committee has altered the terms of the contract to ensure that the same amount of sick leave will be given to all who are in a similar situation in the future. In order to help staff members to understand the decision, the guiding principles were shared with colleagues.  

Mary's story is an example of conflict between the value of a human being and the authority of rules and regulations. We are working with an individual person who was created by God in the image of God. We care for the person. Rules and regulations are created by people to facilitate decision making, so there should be flexibility for individual situations.

References to biblical teachings on justice shows us that justice is fundamentally a matter of “making things right,” not simply recognizing or defining individual rights. It is concerned with the right “relation of human beings to God and to each other.”

References to biblical teachings on justice shows us that justice is fundamentally a matter of “making things right,” not simply recognizing or defining individual rights. It is concerned with the right “relation of human beings to God and to each other.” Jesus expressed this rule through the dual command of love of God and neighbor.   Biblical justice is not “blind,” nor is it totally impartial.   It is most affected by evil and oppression – symbolized in the Old Testament by four groups: widows, orphans, the poor, and strangers in the land; and it is embodied in the New Testament by Jesus' mission to those on the social and religious margins of society.  

The decision made in Mary's case promotes the fellowship of people and harmony of society. It helps us to reach toward the ideal of God's kingdom on earth, and to serve as Christian witnesses to society, to be like salt and light.  

The committee also considered the feelings of Anne, however. She has not been put in a dilemma but rather is given an opportunity to open herself to flexibility by improving the personnel system for the benefit of the staff members.  

Mary and Anne both are happy with the decision because it was made in the light of Christian ethics and teachings. Mary stayed at work and gave birth to a baby boy after two years. Because of the love she experienced, she gave thanks to the church and has started taking the boy, who is five years old, to Sunday school. Together they bear witness to the church's proclamation of the Gospel.

“Truly I tell you, just you did it to me of the least of those who are members of my family, you did it to me.” (Matthew 25:40)

The Rev. Dorothy Lau is director of the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Welfare Council. In addition to numerous ministries in her own Anglican province, she serves on numerous church decision-making bodies within the international Anglican Communion, including the Archbishop of Canterbury's Lambeth Commission. Dorothy may be reached by email at dlau@skhwc.org.hk .