There’s a new ditty being spread by China’s Christians: “Fly the national flag, put up propaganda slogans. The church belongs to the Party, not to the Lord.”
Ever since President Xi Jinping came to power in 2013, Christian churches in China have been “dressed up” by the Communist Party and their appearance is quietly changing as they become more “sinicized.”
A billboard with propagandist slogans abuts the wall of a State-sanctioned Three Self church in Henan.
In 2018, a number of churches in several parts of Henan Province, including the cities of Xinzheng, Shangqiu and Yongcheng, were demolished. Under intimidation from the local government, the remaining places of worship that belong to the state-sanctioned Three-Self Church were forced to fly the national flag and post propaganda slogans while all of the portraits of Jesus and plaques of biblical scriptures were removed from the walls, replaced with various rules and regulations prescribed by the Communist Party of China, or CCP, government.
The discarded cross next to the introduction to Three-Self Longhu Urban Wetland Park Church in Xinzheng.
Outside of Longhu Urban Wetland Park Church sits a bulletin board that reads: “Inheriting China’s fine traditions and carrying forward the great national spirit.”
A propaganda board near Longhu Urban Wetland Park Church displays “Core Socialist Values.”
Another propaganda board near Longhu Urban Wetland Park Church reads: “Learn about the Constitution and strive to be a lawful citizen.”
Oubeisha Church, located in Yanji town, under the jurisdiction of Yongcheng city, also fell victim to this new practice. The Communist Party’s propaganda slogans are posted throughout the church; a poster with pictures of the “Twenty-four Filial Exemplars” can also be found there.
A propaganda slogan on the wall in Oubeisha Church, a state-sanctioned place of worship in Henan’s Yanji town.
A poster with pictures of the “24 Filial Exemplars” is on display at Oubeisha Church.
Inside the Oubeisha Church, hang posters displaying the “Core Socialist Values.”
According to believers, the entire church has changed completely from the inside out, so much so that it is no longer recognizable as a church, thanks to government officials.
“Believers only have God, and not the Party, in their hearts. How is that acceptable? In the future, people can only fit the Communist Party in their hearts. In all matters, they must obey the Party and follow the Party,” said a town government official.
The head of a village in Shanggao county of Yichun city, in Jiangxi, a southeast province, directly posted concise instructions to “obey the party and follow the party” on the most visible spot on the building of a local church. According to believers, the church’s cross was dismantled long ago. The exterior walls of the church have been turned into a wall of CCP propaganda. From the outside, it looks more like a government building.
The Three-Self Gospel Church before authorities removed its cross.
After the cross was removed from the Three-Self Gospel Church, the slogan “Obey the Party, Follow the Party” was put up on the church’s wall.
A Three-Self church in the Binjiang township of Guixi city in Jiangxi, was also forced to put up the new Regulations on Religious Affairs, the “Core Socialist Values,” and other signs.
The sign board of Regulations on Religious Affairs in a Three-Self church in Binjiang township of Guixi city.
The poster of “Core Socialist Values” hangs in a Three-Self church in Binjiang township of Guixi city.
Churches in several parts of the northwestern province of Shaanxi encountered the same fate. In July, under compulsion from the local United Front Work Department, a large church in a city in southern Shaanxi, which can accommodate more than 2,000 believers, was forced to post slogans of CCP policies.
CCP policy slogans hang in the hallway of a Three-Self church in Shaanxi.
Regulations on Religious Affairs are posted in the church.
In the church hall, there used to be a painting of Jesus with sheep on which the church’s rules and regulations were printed, but it has been replaced with a propaganda board for “studying the spirit of Xi Jinping at the 4th Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.”
A painting of Jesus with sheep on which the church’s rules and regulations were printed.
A propaganda board for “studying the spirit of Xi Jinping at 4th Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.”
Meanwhile, officials from the Religious Affairs Bureau also replaced a schematic introduction to the church’s Gospel Hall with a poster of the new Regulations on Religious Affairs.
The schematic introduction to the Church’s Gospel Hall.
A poster detailing the new Regulations on Religious Affairs.
In the face of the CCP authorities’ increasingly apparent erosion of religious belief, one Three-Self church pastor said: “Xi Jinping is implementing the ‘sinicization’ of Christianity. To put it bluntly, it is the ‘CCP-ization’ of Christianity, so that Christianity and Catholicism in China will both be surnamed ‘Communist Party.’”
Uses a pseudonym for security reasons.
