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God in China
China is set to be the most powerful country on earth in the 21st century. In two generations, from the Maoist Red Guards of the 1960s, through Tiananmen Square, to the Beijing Olympics, those alive in China today have lived through one of the greatest revolutions in the history of the world. From the outside, China appears as a nation reborn.
But what has been the effect on the inner lives of individuals who have seen the worship of a human idol in Mao Zedong, give way to the assertion that to be rich is good, as the most closed society on earth has become manufacturer to the world? A society of peasants has successfully aspired to become a nation of consumers but, along the way, has sown the seeds for the creation of a supremely selfish society. Communist Party internal documents speak of disillusionment and ideological emptiness post the Cultural Revolution. Now the Communist Party itself is turning to religion to fill that vacuum.
In this 3 part series, Tim Gardam, Principal of St Anne’s College, Oxford, travels through this nation of 1.4 billion people, to explore the role of “God in China”.
Producer: Liz Leonard
With Cody at college and Ezra drafted, Jenny is left to deal with the unpredictable Pearl.