A newly-implemented directive from the Chinese Government in June forces Protestant ‘house churches’ and Catholic ‘underground’ communities to seek ‘guidance’ from recognised religious organisations.
A notification from the State Administration for Religious Affairs requires organisers of religious activities at temporary sites to also apply for a permit that is valid for three years.
Cause of fear
According to Professor Ying Fuk-tsang, director of the Divinity School at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, these recognised religious organisations include the China Christian Council and the national committee of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement, which are known in China as the lianghui (two organisations).
The directive has caused fear among the ‘underground’ communities that they will come under greater control.
‘It is well known that many “house churches” are reluctant to register and are willing to be an illegal organisation because they do not want to be under the two organisations,’ Professor Fuk-tsang wrote on his Facebook page.
Revised regulations
The notification follows revised religious regulations in February, which spelled out criteria that religious organisations have to meet in order to be registered or to establish a place for religious activities.
The revised regulations have in reality been in force since the early 1980s, according to Aaron Ma, an Asia-based researcher for the Christian advocacy charity Open Doors International, but he said they were now being taken more seriously.
‘There is now a heightened sense that a breach of regulations will be met by some form of warning, increased surveillance, or punishment. Certainly, most churches feel it is time to take extra precautions, to downsize or maybe even relocate some of their ministries.’
The enforcement of the religious regulations varies across the country and appears to depend on local authorities’ interpretation of it. Church leaders in several places, such as the eastern province of Zhejiang where between 2013 and 2015 over 1,200 crosses were pulled down from churches, said that although ‘it sounds becoming more serious, yet at this moment we don’t feel much different’.
Elsewhere, in Henan, Ma said that officials banned ‘house church’ meetings and then went door-to-door, warning residents to stop attending ‘illegal’ church meetings – or else face serious consequences.
Landlords refusals
One example of what appears a measured and acceptable way for local authorities to show their subservience to the ruling party is to warn unregistered churches not to meet in rented or self-built church venues (e.g. commercial buildings). More and more regions are adopting this approach, and an increasing number of landlords refuse to extend leases to local churches.
Sinicisation (making things Chinese) is also the government’s answer to unify its culturally, linguistically and religiously diverse population. Rather than encourage unity based on a celebration of diversity, they have preferred an intentional and sustained process of Sinicisation to create uniformity.
Church a destabilising force?
In this scenario, Christians are an enigma to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The CCP believes the church is a destabilising force, but not because it is bad. In fact, local communities and authorities tend to believe Christians are good people. Some suggest that because Christians’ allegiance is first and foremost to God and not the CCP, there is a conflict of interests that the party believes can potentially hinder the process of unification. Others are more concerned by what they perceive as potential ‘chaos’ arising from the huge number of Christians.’
