China's atheistic communist regime has long sought to suppress, or at least control, Christianity within its borders.
According to
new report According to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, a communist campaign to forcibly eradicate “religious elements deemed inconsistent with the political and policy agenda of the Chinese Communist Party” has intensified under dictator Xi Jinping. are.
This report reveals much about the regime, but it also suggests much about the patience and enduring faith of the Chinese people. After all, the current regime's despair is the result of its failure over the past 75 years to crush the faith of Chinese Christians through torture, murder, propaganda, and imprisonment.
Caught by the Marxist concept that religion is a “drug of the masses,” China's communist regime began confiscating churches and temples in the 1950s. Deport the missionaries. And religious groups are closely monitored.
pew research
noticed During the Cultural Revolution, dictator Mao Zedong sought to completely eliminate religion, banning all religious activities and violently persecuting religious officials, often massacring Christian clergy and believers. While the regime shed blood and flattened the church, believers went underground.
“The government has implemented a policy of forced 'religious Sinicization' that has fundamentally changed China's religious environment.”
Although restrictions were relatively relaxed in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the regime continued to subject Chinese Christians of all denominations to harassment.
torture, detentionand Execution.
Breaking the body had no effect, so the regime is now working even harder to break the hearts of Chinese Christians.
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom stated in a September report:
Under Xi Jinping's rule as the supreme leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the government implemented a policy of forced “religious Sinicization” that fundamentally changed China's religious environment. Sinicization, or the complete subordination of religious groups to the Chinese Communist Party's political policies and Marxist vision of religion, has become a central driving principle of the government's management of religious affairs.
The report found that the regime's “sinicization work program,” which included Protestants and Catholics, “reduced patriotism, loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party and China's political system, religious doctrine, sermons, rituals, and the architectural style of places of worship to the Chinese Communist Party.” “We are emphasizing the unity of the two parties,” he said. Ideological requirements. ”
Authorities have reportedly ordered all crosses removed from all known churches and statues of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary replaced with photos of Xi Jinping. The regime also requires Chinese Communist Party slogans to be posted at church entrances. Religious texts are censored or deleted entirely.
Homily is censored. A surveillance camera installed at the altar monitors all happenings in the church.
Blaze News previously reported that people under the age of 18 are also prohibited from participating in religious ceremonies to ensure the state's atheism.
“Tens of millions of Christians have chosen not to join these organizations.”
These Sinicization plans appear to primarily target “official” churches and associations such as the Protestant Three-Self Patriotic Movement, the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, and the China Christian Council, all of which are at the mercy of the regime. are. Meanwhile, unregulated underground churches continue to resist state regulation.
According to the report, “While state-controlled Christian religious groups promote and enforce state religious restrictions, tens of millions of Christians do not belong to these groups and worship independently. “I am choosing.”
For example, underground Catholics “regard the Vatican as the sole legitimator of spiritual authority, which the Chinese Communist Party views as a threat,” and have aligned themselves with the Chinese Communist Party, which was installed without Vatican consultation and approval. He refuses to be a bishop. Leaders of the Catholic underground church often “disappear”.
“Protestants in independent house churches face similar oppression for not joining the church.” [Protestant Three-Self Patriotic Movement]”The government has detained, arrested, and imprisoned independent Protestant leaders and members,” the report said.
a
2011 Pew Forum Report It showed that the number of Christians, including Protestants and Catholics, exceeded 67 million. economist 2020 similarly showed that official numbers do not reflect reality. China's Christians and Muslims together outnumber Communist Party members (92 million).
According to According to Christian persecution monitoring group Open Doors, there are currently an estimated 96.7 million Christians in China.
Open Doors said the level of persecution in China was “extremely high” and ranked China as the 19th worst offender in the world. On the other hand, Freedom House
rank China is rated as “not free” with a score of 9 out of 100, and compared to other countries, a score of 100 is the most free.
among them
annual reportthe U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom recommended that the U.S. government redesignate China as a “Country of Particular Concern” due to “systematic, persistent, and egregious violations of religious freedom.” The watchdog group also recommended targeting sanctions against Chinese officials and entities responsible for these freedom violations.
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