A magazine on religious liberty and human rights in China
Christian faith is banned in Xi Jinping’s China and believers are persecuted and jailed.
Daniel H. Williams is professor of patristics and historical theology at the Department of Religion of Baylor University in Waco, Texas. The author or editor of six books, he has also been active in teaching in China since 2006.
By coercing congregations into signing mandatory “donation agreements” to give away churches, authorities attempt to present forced takeovers as “legitimate.”
Monetary rewards by the government nurture the culture of snitching in China, putting people of faith in permanent danger and resulting in the closure of churches.
Allowing the Chinese to worship only the Communist Party, authorities are ordering the removal of the fundamental law of Christianity from churches.
When members of the congregation refused, authorities in Shaanxi still destroyed a state-approved Protestant church, under a trumped-up pretext.
House church believers from Shandong share their experience of a perilous trip to the Uyghur region to check on how fellow religionists practice their faith.
A recently issued document calls for the closure, repurposing, and strict supervision of religious venues, exerting personal responsibility on officials in charge.
Since the control over believers has become one of the main tasks for local authorities, their work is closely monitored and evaluated.
Anything religion-related is off limits in the country. Welfare and support centers established by believers or churches are closed down.
Two more state-approved Three-Self churches are reported to have been demolished, and their assets and valuables looted during the holiday season last year.
