Religious expression is tightly managed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in order to propagate socialist policies in support of state objectives.
The agitprop in communist China’s state-run media never stops, but sometimes the lies are beyond the absurd. This is especially true as it relates to the discussion of religion—or, rather, its suppression. For example, here is a headline from the English version of state-run China Daily: “Religious freedom, ethnic unity highlighted.” Note the first sentence from that trash article (emphasis added): “Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, has underlined the importance of fully implementing the Party’s theories and policies concerning ethnic groups in order to further promote equality, unity, mutual assistance and harmony among all of them.” The reality is that those laudable goals are arbitrarily determined by the CCP, not through free religious expression by a free people.
Let us examine the reality of “religious freedom” in China because that China Daily article masks decades of communist persecution of the religious in the country.
Like Marxists everywhere throughout history, the CCP since its founding in 1921 has practiced thought control by ruthlessly persecuting religious people. Except for five state-recognized religions, the CCP through the Religious Affairs Bureau (RAB) banned the practice of other religions when it seized power in 1949. RAB measures over the years have involved thought control, persecution, and the squelching of any religious thought that is not in line with CCP policies.
• All religious leaders are vetted for political reliability, for example, adherence to CCP policies. • Limits are placed on the number of priests, pastors, and other religious leaders. • At least 100 million Protestant Christians, Tibetan Buddhists, Uyghur Muslims, and Falun Gong practitioners face persecution in some form. • Especially targeted are Muslims in Xinjiang where the coercion has suppressed the wearing of traditional religious attire, mosque attendance, and even the choice of names for newborns. • The state-run reeducation camps in Xinjiang use a points-based system for measuring the effectiveness of ideological “reeducation” efforts and determining detainees’ eligibility for release.
Pressure on religions in China was dramatically increased with the implementation of new rules for religious groups in early 2020. Six chapters and 41 articles detailing the new administrative measures govern the “organization, functions, supervision, and management of religious groups.” Article 3 states that religious clergy should “love the motherland, support the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and support the socialist system.” One of the objectives of these new measures is to reinterpret Christian teaching according to socialist doctrine as interpreted by the CCP. All religions are coerced to highlight Chinese culture and support the leadership of the CCP in their religious practices.The purpose of religious persecution is to control the very private thoughts and beliefs of the Chinese people: It is all about control of all religious activities and expression to ensure conformity of state-approved thought among all citizens. It is also a form of psychological warfare against Chinese citizens—a constant pressure to conform to CCP policies in thought, word, and deed. The free exchange of religious ideas, especially those pointing to a spiritual power higher than the government, is antithetical to the Chinese regime and cannot be tolerated, as such concepts undermine CCP control and authority.
Falun Gong adherents are also persecuted mercilessly by the CCP, who view them as a direct threat to CCP legitimacy because they are an indigenous religious movement outside of government control, compared to the five heavily-regulated “official” foreign religions. The three tenets of Falun Gong are truth, compassion, and tolerance, which are completely antithetical to ChiComs. The CCP often leverages traditional Chinese cultural xenophobia to control the masses and stir up animosity against foreign religious practices. That doesn’t work well with the homegrown Falun Gong, whose adherents practice large-scale civil disobedience and propagate underground anti-CCP literature with impunity, making them a top priority for suppression by the CCP.
Conclusion
Religious freedom in China—like virtually all of the narratives propagated by Chinese state-run media—is a myth. In fact, the obverse is true. Religious persecution is ratcheted up whenever CCP control is determined to be threatened. As the world finally discovers the true origins of the CCP virus (commonly known as the novel coronavirus), as well as the extreme measures taken by the Chinese regime to destroy and withhold medical data from other countries, the pressure for accountability and restitution will continue to build.Despite the frantic efforts from the CCP-controlled state media to shift the blame to others, increased religious persecution in communist China might well be a harbinger of grim times ahead—for the Chinese people themselves and very likely the rest of the world, too, as the CCP regime faces mounting pressures.
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