Chinese academics claim that the Vatican-China Agreement follows the “Vietnamese model.” However, they misinterpret it.
Massimo Introvigne
Vatican Signs “Provisional Agreement” with China
Contrary to exaggerated expectations, the Vatican-China agreement has a limited scope—but is described as “the first step in a process”
The McDonald’s Murder of 2014: The Crime The Church of Almighty God Did Not Commit
Chinese propaganda still claims The Church of Almighty God was responsible for the murder of a woman in a McDonald’s diner in Zhaoyuan in 2014. Scholarly studies have demonstrated that the crime was committed by a different religious movement and The Church of Almighty God had nothing to do with it.
Brand New Draft Regulation: More Restriction on Religions in China
A new regulation confines mention of religion on any Internet platform to a few government-controlled organizations that will receive a special license for very limited Web activity.
You Have Got Mail: Massimo Introvigne Writes to Korean Christian Anticult Media
Three Korean Christian media, CBS, CTS, and Kukmin Ilbo, reported on the false demonstrations against The Church of Almighty God in Korea. In a frenzy to attack “cults” with whose theology they disagree, they took the side of the persecutors and the Chinese Communist...
The New Religious Affairs Regulation Came into Force in 2018: What Exactly Happened?
Some hoped that with the new religious law, which was finally signed on August 26, 2017 and came into force on February 1, 2018, there would have been less control on religion. In fact, things went from bad to worse.
“The Magic Weapon”: How China Tries to Control Information Abroad
An official U.S. report details the massive efforts deployed by the United Front, under the personal guidance of President Xi Jinping, to manipulate information about China abroad and contain criticism on the issues of religious freedom and human rights.
“Gray Market”: The Largest Segment of Chinese Religion
Between the government-controlled “red market” of religion and the banned and persecuted groups of the “black market,” lies the vast area of the religious “gray market,” including churches and temples that are neither legal nor explicitly banned as xie jiao and a...
The Red Market: The “Official” Religions in China
“Official” or “government-controlled” religions are often mentioned in China. Five religious bodies are indeed authorized by the regime, although even their liberty is limited. Massimo Introvigne Bitter Winter readers often encounter news about “government-controlled”...
If Your Religion is a Xie Jiao, You Go to Jail – But What Is A Xie Jiao?
The current list of xie jiao, compiled by Hong Kong scholar Ed Irons Since the late Ming era, China has used xie jiao to designate religious movements the government does not like. Their repression has always been brutal, but what a xie jiao is, is far from being...
Massimo Introvigne
Massimo Introvigne (born June 14, 1955 in Rome) is an Italian sociologist of religions. He is the founder and managing director of the Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR), an international network of scholars who study new religious movements. Introvigne is the author of some 70 books and more than 100 articles in the field of sociology of religion. He was the main author of the Enciclopedia delle religioni in Italia (Encyclopedia of Religions in Italy). He is a member of the editorial board for the Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion and of the executive board of University of California Press' Nova Religio. From January 5 to December 31, 2011, he has served as the "Representative on combating racism, xenophobia and discrimination, with a special focus on discrimination against Christians and members of other religions" of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). From 2012 to 2015 he served as chairperson of the Observatory of Religious Liberty, instituted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in order to monitor problems of religious liberty on a worldwide scale.