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For decades, the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in China has fervently worked to control and restrict Christianity within its borders, with the ultimate aim of abolishing it altogether. Believers have bravely persisted in the face of this vicious persecution. Today, the danger and threat they face is as dire as ever – and a new report from International Christian Concern warns, “There is no longer a safe place to be a Christian in China.”
The regime officially banned 281 million people who belong either to the CCP or its affiliated youth organizations from engaging in a broad range of spiritual activities. Because of its supreme motive of staying in power and securing its rule against all threats (whether they are real or perceived), the CCP has maintained a tight grip on society by using Maoist rhetoric and ideology to keep citizens in line. Regulations govern churches that meet online, venues for religious activity, and even the selection of religious leaders.
Open Doors, a human rights organization that monitors Christian persecution on a global scale, ranks China 15 in its 2025 World Watch List:
“In recent years, the government has aggressively tried to ensure all religious expression is brought into line with official Chinese Communist philosophy. Any church or church leader stepping beyond that can come under heavy restrictions. Unregistered churches, even those once tolerated, are considered illegal and increasingly put under pressure, as authorities seek to enforce regulations and tighten policies. State-approved churches come under strong ideological pressure, and smaller congregations are often forced to merge to make a larger church that is easier for the state to control.
Children under 18 are forbidden from attending church. Officially registered churches are carefully regulated to make sure nothing they promote falls outside CCP guidelines.”
According to its Constitution, China is an atheist country. Christians are the largest religious demographic but are not under complete state control. Therefore, they are seen as a threat to the Communist Party which states that those who maintain their religious beliefs after a dose of “strengthened thought education” will be “encouraged to leave the Party”. As a result, those who convert to Christianity usually keep their conversion a secret, as they could otherwise be threatened or detained by authorities.
According to Open Doors:
“President Xi Jinping has consolidated his power in a manner not seen since Mao Zedong. Under Xi, the CCP has become almost militant in its efforts to maintain control. Government authorities have studied what led to the downfall of communism elsewhere. One factor is the control of social groups such as Christians, who are seen as alien and connected with foreign, mainly Western, powers. The Party puts pressure on its officials to implement anti-Christian policies and offers incentives.”
Several universities have opened faculties to teach Xi Jinping’s ideas which are then tested through an app. Much effort is also being made to teach these ideas to those as young as kindergarten age. Alternative views are not permitted; disloyal CCP members are purged or sidelined, Open Doors notes.
Meanwhile, the CCP has started to take direct control of universities by merging presidential offices with the Party Committee, thus forming a unified leadership for higher education. Books promoting atheism, such as “The Principles of Scientific Atheism” are distributed as textbooks in colleges and among Communist Party cadres.
Open Doors states that China is not fulfilling its international obligations by regularly violating or failing to protect Christians, who are often monitored by the state, their faith activities are hindered and disrupted. Churches are hindered from obtaining legal status and those officially registered are subject to heavy state interference. Christian leaders are imprisoned on charges of national security. Their children are harassed and discriminated against because of their parents’ faith. The children are also hindered from attending religious services and receiving religious education. In 2024, there were raids on and closures of churches, arrests of leaders and confiscation of Christian materials in the country.
There are many means of discriminating against religious minorities in China: denying permits, conducting financial investigations aimed at uncovering foreign links, and shutting down churches due to alleged building or fire violations.
The CCP has a policy of “Sinicizing” churches, a term referencing the CCP’s action to bring them under the CCP’s control by requiring them to align their doctrines, customs and morality with Chinese culture. The state-sanctioned church associations are the Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM – Protestant) and the Patriotic Catholic Association (CPA). Churches not in these associations are considered illegal and are called house or underground churches, though they can have hundreds of members. The government incentivizes citizens to report illegal religious activities, and church leaders face increasing pressure to join state-approved churches. TSPM pastors are required to teach “Core Socialist Values” and “Patriotism”. If they refused to do so, they would lose their job or leave the TSPM system.
Regulations for religious institutions were published in 2021 and in 2023. Article 39 of the 2023 regulations demands that “sermons should reflect the core socialist values”. A regulation on religious clergy has also been introduced. It stipulates that clergy should love the motherland, support CCP leadership, and support the Sinicization of churches.
As part of the “patriotic education,” introduced from January 1, 2024, clergy are not just attending courses, but they are also brought on so-called “red tours,” visiting important sites of CCP history.
New restrictions on the internet, social media, NGOs, registration duties and the 2018 regulations on religion are increasingly applied with a large degree of strictness. All these regulations seriously limit freedom of belief.
Christian leaders are particularly targeted for government surveillance. Pastors of unregistered churches face accusations of economic crimes, financial fraud or the catch-all crime of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”. Catholic priests and high-profile house church leaders have been abducted. In these instances, they are often physically abused, including being beaten by police officers. For those under prolonged detention, they are unable to provide financially for their families. Due to such pressure, some church leaders choose to emigrate.
In 2024, there were a plethora of cases against Christians, among other reasons, because of “illegal business operations” or “fraud”. This is becoming a new standard accusation. Hundreds of Christians were subjected to varying degrees of detention and house arrest in the past year, including “Residential surveillance in a designated location”.
On January 12, 2024, for instance, a court in the city of Dalian sentenced a prominent online Protestant pastor, Kan Xiaoyong, and five church members to 14 years in jail for “using superstition to undermine the law.” On January 27, 2024, authorities raided a gathering of non-registered Christians in Xiaotun Heilongjiang Province, where more than 200 people were detained. In April 2024, a court in Hohhot Nei Monggol Province sentenced Ban Yanhong to five years for “illegal business operations” simply because he distributed Bibles. On July 24, 2024, elder Zhang Chunlei from Guiyang Ren`ai Reformed Church in Guizhou Province was sentenced to 3.5 years for “inciting subversion of state power” and “fraud.”
Christians who depend on government subsidies (such as the elderly) are sometimes pressured by local Party officials to choose between their faith and the subsidy. Christian youths aspiring to join the public service do not stand a chance if their faith is known. Students can also be put under pressure to reveal their parents’ religion. In some areas, Christian children with convert parents have been threatened with not being allowed to graduate or not being accepted for further studies.
Meanwhile, there is a deliberate push to eliminate the use of the internet to download any Christian material. Access to online Christian content is strictly monitored by the government, if not restricted. Bible apps are banned from online stores and religious audiobooks are banned from Audible.
Monitoring, which is conducted by agents, neighborhood committees and security guards, is widespread. Church activities are also monitored by CCTV cameras which watch the pulpit, congregation and church compound. Preaching at Sunday services in state churches must even be pre-approved in some parts of the country.
High-profile Christians come under special scrutiny. However, being an active (local) church leader can be sufficient to appear on the radar of authorities and be consistently watched. The Communist Party maintains a reward system to encourage security guards to report any irregularities. This grid management system is used to monitor neighborhoods. Church leaders are often summoned for interrogation at local police stations, such as in the case of the remnants of the Early Rain Covenant Church in Chengdu. There is a growing level of self-censorship as a result of monitoring with cameras and spies.
An Open Doors expert notes: “Whereas in the past there were some channels for voicing dissatisfaction with religious policies, today no dissenting voices are allowed.”
Religion in general is seen as a major threat by the CCP. Other religious communities are also under intense pressure. Muslim, Buddhist, Taoist and Jewish houses of worship have been closed. Tibetan Buddhists face strong pressure from the government, especially under the new Ethnic Unity Law. Confucianism is the only philosophy praised by the Chinese government as being truly Chinese since it can incorporate Communism.
Muslims, Buddhists and adherents of Falun Gong report severe societal discrimination in employment, housing and business. Employment discrimination is common in public sector jobs (e.g., all religious believers are excluded from government positions that require Party membership).
China is a case study of how communist forces try to eradicate faith, particularly the Christian faith. China’s Communist Party is a vicious persecutor of Christians and others who believe in God. If globalist, tyrannical forces have their way, it is very clear what sort of future they will impose on Christians in the West.
It is already happening in Western Europe and Canada and was happening in America under the Biden administration.
It appears like China also has a ACLU and SPLC as well
When I became a Christian. 55 years ago, I quickly learned that since the Resurrection of Christ we have been outnumbered, and surrounded feeling like we’re about to be overrun. I also learned that as long as Jesus is Lord, the church will never be fully stamped out.
The greatest honor a Christian may be allowed to have is to come to the same end that so many of us have experienced from the days of Rome’s reprobate, Nero. Until that opportunity arrives, will keep my powder dry and my head on a swivel.
To the unrepentant and lost world I say, “Bring it!”
If the ChiComs would simply open their eyes, they could see that Christians tend to be patriotic citizens who want to work hard and honestly, and raise traditional families, while worshiping God. China could benefit greatly from a society of honest, hardworking traditional families. But they want the party to be revered even over God. Sad.
In the CCP’s domain, there is no God, only the Party. Only allegiance to the latter is permitted. The suggestion that they even have a priority list on which God appears is inconsistent with their ideology.
The institutions of the Christian faith have demonstrated cowardice and betrayal of Christians around the world in the face of persecution and genocide by Muslims, Communists, and (yes) the Progressive Democrat Party. The Catholic Church, led by its “Liberation Theology” Communist Pope, has stood by for years while Catholics and other Christians are slaughtered, tortured, persecuted, and otherwise abused. The Protestant faiths have been no better. These religious “institutions” have abandoned their principles, their faith, and made common cause with those in political and religious circles who would persecute and eliminate the very faithful these institutions claim to represent. There should be a special place in hell for these betrayers and cowards.
I too worship in a “house church” even though I do not live in China but in America. I gave up looking for a Christian denomination not dominated by leftist doctrine, including abortion and Democrat Party ideology. The Democrats are our new American Communist Party. There are too many American churches with “sermons [that] reflect the core socialist values”. Think Christianity with Chinese characteristics.
And if Xi Jinping wanted a model on which to base his life he could not have chosen a worse human being than Mao Zedong. Mao was the most monstrous person the have ever lived in the history of human kind. Mind you, Mao had his own mentor in the person of Joseph Stalin, and Stalin bears much of the blame for the success of Mao’s Chinese Communist revolution.
Communists see religion and in particular Christianity “as a major threat”. They are right to do so. There is no greater power on earth than faith and the prayer that drives it.
In the mean time we Christians everywhere must remember to “Be wise as serpents, and harmless as doves”. And to remember Christ’s words “If the world hate you, you know that it hated me before it hated you”.
You must live in a blue state I take it
For “a Christian denomination not dominated by leftist doctrine, including abortion and Democrat Party ideology” you may have better “luck” among the supposed whackos, i.e., the Pentecostals. They/we are free in their devotion and expressive witness/worship of a living God with no added political accoutrements.
On a very minor aspect of the article – I wonder if the Chinese have access to archive.org which has a lot of Christian texts, as well as material on just about every other subject under the sun?
Surprisingly, the world has not yet come to grips with fact that “Communism is Satanism.”
Anyone changing the words of the Bible will come under the judgment of God-xi is but a man and will die the death God chooses, I think he will see the truth before he dies such as many atheists have-like Voltaire who was seeing the torment he was bound for eternity to bear. Every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Christ is King-amen
Thank you for this much needed article.
Unfortunately and sadly the Pope and the Catholic Church have bent the knee to China. They say and do nothing to criticize Chinese persecution or any persecution of Christians anywhere. They do criticize governments protecting their borders or not committing suicide through climate change insanity. They do complain about losing funding for illegitimate nGO activities. But nothing else.
Karl Marx with his COMMUNIST MANIFESTO an long with his three volume THE CAPITAL in which he explained his economic political/philosophical scheme for a “classless and stateless society “ in which “Everyone works according his ability and receives according to his needs.’’ has many times over by refuted and discredited by genuine economists, sociologists and historians. These scholars have thoroughly exposes the many economic fallacies and flaws of Marxism way before the collapse of Communism in Russia and the Eastern bloc nations in 1992. Therefore even the recent history of the early 1990’s disproves Marxism as extremely erroneous. So it’s Adam Smith with his THE WEALTH OF NATIONS that is valid and in contrast Karl Marx with his written nonsensical a full of folly and invalid.
So it’s highly unlikely that any Communist dictator really believe in the obvious flawed economic fallacies of Karl Marx. Nevertheless, they all still need to publicly stand firm on the teachings, principles and precepts of Communism as laid down in the many writing of Marx. This is because evil is always looking for an excuse. Therefore, Marxism is the excuse to set up and up hold tyrannical red regimes.
For that Communist tyrant of China ,Xi Jinping doesn’t really believe a future of a “pure perfect Communist society “ will come from their tyranny . As in the saying “Being cruel, brutal and deadly for the greater good” What nonsense!
Therefore, to uphold the ideals of Marxism, Communist tyrant of China cruelly persecutes Christians. For Christians believe in the Bible and Marxism is so very weak and fragile in its nature and because it lacks sound logic and rational arguments based on reason to uphold it , the whole Marxist system collapse down to the ground In the light in information of the Bible.
Since Communists don’t have a firm foot based on reality and reason to base Marxism on in which is the foundation for the heinous rule. They resort to extremely harsh severe, malicious and murderous persecution against Christians and burn their Bibles.
The CCP hates all religion. Atheism is their goal. It’s no wonder that the Uygur Muslims have been persecuted for who knows how long.
Xi Jinping is currently applying additional political and abusive pressure on Christians. That said, he has and continues to also viciously incarcerate practitioners of Falun Gong, a spiritual practice which originated in China. As well, these Falun Gong are often murdered for organ harvesting while others are kept awake as their organs are removed for sale on a lucrative black market. Over 1 million Uyghurs have been taken to and remain within re-education camps in China having their families torn apart.
Communist Atheists place no intrinsic value upon life as the government’s one-child policy resulted in copious abortions of baby girls. They now have multitudes of men who cannot find women for marriage.
It is ironic that Türkiye, from where the Uyghurs originate does nothing much about this nightmare. Syria is now also viciously beheading Christians and committing other atrocities against them.
This Communist Atheist Islamic Leftist amalgamation is an emerging nightmare toward those who believe in G-d and who simply want to safely and unabashedly practice their faith or spiritual beliefs.
The truest opponent for these monsters is G-d Almighty. It is G-d they want destroyed from the minds of men for then they are certain they can control mankind making humanity permanent serfs of their dominion. All of humanity needs this eerie reminder from Martin Niemoller:
“In Germany they came first for the Communists,
and I didn’t speak up
because I wasn’t a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak up
because I wasn’t a Jew.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn’t speak up
because I wasn’t a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn’t speak up
because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me,
and by that time no one was left
to speak up for me.”
They are coming for humanity, one group at a time. If those who genuinely believe in G-d continue to hate one another, not unlike the beginnings in Germany under Hitler, we will once again find evil empowered to behead, crucify, rape, murder, mutilate, pillage and incinerate every person whom they deem unfit to live.
Xi Jinping is not immortal. At God’s appointed time he will stand before the Lord Jesus at the final judgement to account for his persecution of Christians.
Romans 14:10-12 (ESV).
“Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.”
So then each of us will give an account of himself to God”.
I must admit that some of the contents remind me of what is happening in America. The protestors and agitators have attacked people who own a Tesla. There is really a dog whistle that alerts the psychos and they abandon reason and attack the business that supports government efficiency. Very wealthy men are financing the crazies, and the media sends out a dog whistle to alert them to violence. They are imitating the Chinese government,
For Christians, remember that our battle is not against flesh and blood but against principalities of darkness. They can jail these Christians but like the Soviets, it only makes them stronger. Read “Do Not Live By Lies” by Dreher and see for yourself.