2023-07-14 01:25:43
Being a genuinely Christian church in China means waging a battle with the local government, currently ruled by the dictator Xi Jiping, leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), who is now determining that churches start displaying a slogan of veneration for communism on their facades .
The complaint was made by the organization Portas Abertas, which has been active in the area of religious surveillance for decades, practically all over the planet. According to the entity, the measures were initially adopted in Zhejiang province.
According to the complaint, churches in that province, as well as other religious buildings, are required to have the following words on their facades: “Love the communist party, love the country and love religion.”
In other words, the order of writing puts love for the Communist Party and patriotism above faith (“religion”), equating ideological and earthly issues with something that Christians cannot compare to faith in Jesus Christ.
sinicization
The measure taken by the Chinese dictatorship follows the logic of a process known as “sinicization”, which is nothing more than shaping everything that exists in the country, in terms of values, customs and even faith, to the precepts of the controlling State.
In this sense, even religion must serve as a tool for promoting the government’s ideologies, bowing to the regime’s ideals, even if this implies its mischaracterization and the abandonment of real doctrinal teachings.
“This instruction was made by the province’s Department of Religious Affairs and is believed to be a test case ‘prior to possible deployment in other areas of the country,’” reported Open Doors International.
Facade of a Christian church with a pro-Communist slogan. Photo: reproduction/Open Doors
According to a local witness, the mischaracterization of the temples has been so marked that the concern is that some citizens are confused, no longer knowing whether the buildings are, in fact, places of Christian worship or official government buildings.
“Due to increased surveillance and restrictions, many house churches have stopped meeting in larger groups and have split into smaller groups. Others used to meet online, but this has become more difficult as Chinese authorities pay more attention to online activities,” concludes to Open Doors.
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