The Communist-run Chinese State would prefer that its subjects pray only to itself, not also to any other deities.
In lieu of securing this monopoly, however, it seeks to regulate religious practice and organizations as restrictively it can. And it has just tightened the shackles.
Release International: Voice of Persecuted Christians reports (“New Laws Tighten Communist Grip on Church From Sept 1,” August 31, 2023):
The new rules, announced by the State Administration for Religious Affairs, are intended to limit all religious activities to official venues only and prevent the display of religious symbols outdoors.
From September 1, all religious activity will have to be supervised by the state to make sure churches and places of worship support the leadership of China’s Communist Party.
Partners of UK-based Release International say the government is working to bring all aspects of religion under the control of the Party, which is officially atheist. . . .
[The rules include a] demand that all religious activity uphold the leadership of the Communist Party and the socialist system, and adhere to China’s policy of Sinicization.
The goal of Sinicization is to shove people and institutions into greater conformity with the China that the CCP wants.
This means curtailing or eradicating elements of Chinese culture, like the Christian church and its symbols, that the CCP regards as impeding the realization of the one true China. Destroying crosses on church property, even the property of state-authorized churches, is part of the agenda. RI observes that in one province alone, in recent years the Chinese state has destroyed over 1,500 crosses. Also part of the agenda is censorship of preaching and of religious content on the Internet.
