Michel Chambon 陈立邦
I am a French theologian and a cultural anthropologist specialized in the study of Christianity in Asia. Most of my scholarship explores Chinese Christianity and Catholicism in Asia. As a Research Fellow at the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore, I coordinate ISAC (the Initiative for the Study of Asian Catholics) and publish on issues related to Asia, Catholicism, Christianity, etc.
RESEARCHER | EDUCATOR | GARDENER |
Researching
Christianity in Asia
Since Sept. 2003, I have constantly engaged with the sinophone world.
From 2003 to 2006, I worked for the catholic diocese of Hong Kong as a pastoral worker and learnt Cantonese at Hong Kong University. In 2009-2011, I studied Mandarin in Taiwan and conducted research among Catholics and Presbyterians exploring their views on ghosts and spirits. In 2015-2016, I conducted ethnographic fieldwork in Northern Fujian (Nanping) where I studied local Christian communities in relation to their religious environment.
My academic book (2020) “Making Christ Present in China – Actor Network Theory and the Anthropology of Christianity” examines the five Christian denominations of Nanping to question the ways social science theorizes the unity and diversity of Christianity.
Since then, I regularly visit China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong to observe on-going evolutions of Chinese Christianity. In addition to various academic collaborations, I also study the materialization of Christianity within the Taiwanese domestic sphere.