Release International
Tougher regulations on religious affairs come into force in February, giving the state greater control over churches and other places of worship.
Those new rules will mean unregistered house churches will face increasingly tough measures to control their activities.
The restrictions are being promoted to ‘block extremism’ and prevent the use of religion to ‘endanger national security and undermine social order’. They reflect the Communist Party’s fear that foreign powers are working to undermine its authority by supporting Christianity.
State strengthens control
It follows moves by President Xi Jinping to strengthen his control over the country by writing his name into the Constitution. Although that Constitution supposedly safeguards religious freedom, President Xi’s administration has been tearing down symbols of Christianity, such as crosses on churches, and imprisoning Christian lawyers who take legal action to prevent their removal.
The clampdown on Christianity in the atheist state is believed to be at its severest since the cultural revolution.
