Over 23 million Christians in country: Survey

Beijing - The number of Christians in the country has hit a record 23.05 million in 2010, according to a survey released on Wednesday by the institute of world religions at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

"Nearly 69 percent of believers said they converted to Christianity after either they or members of their family fell ill," Li Lin, who organized the survey, said in the Blue Book on China Religions, a book that lists facts on religion in China.

"About 15 percent of believers said they are Christian because of the influence of family traditions."