Dr Agnes Chiu

Dr Agnes Chiu holds a BA in Social Ecology (Criminology) from the University of California, Irvine, and a Juris Doctor from UCLA School of Law. Following more than twenty years of legal practice, she undertook theological studies at Fuller Theological Seminary, where she completed an MA in Biblical Studies and a PhD in Christian Ethics. She currently serves as Assistant Professor and Director of Research and Strategic Initiatives at the Centre for Public Theology, China Evangelical Seminary North America. Her scholarly interests lie in public and systematic theology, with particular attention to theology’s engagement with everyday life.

Research Focus at Cambridge

Dr Chiu's project critically examines the Chinese House Church (CHC) through the lens of Abraham Kuyper’s ecclesiology, conceptualising the church as an organic, dynamic body, and situates this analysis within the normative and methodological frameworks of Public Theology. It investigates how the CHC may enact a public witness that is simultaneously faithful, socially responsible, and responsive to cultural and political contingencies, elucidating its potential contribution to the common good in Mainland China while remaining faithful to the biblical injunction to be 'salt and light' (Matthew 5:13–16).

The research interrogates three interrelated questions: the CHC’s contemporary spiritual and existential challenges; the theological and ethical significance of its engagement in social care and communal formation; and its capacity to inform the conceptual development of Public Theology in the Chinese context, mediating between ecclesial fidelity and civic responsibility.

Methodologically, the study combines systematic review of Sinophone and Anglophone scholarship, archival research in Cambridge University Library’s Chinese collections, and critical dialogue with experts. This multi-modal approach integrates historical, theological, and sociocultural analysis to produce a nuanced account of the CHC’s ecclesial and public role.