Open Doors has released its latest World Watch List, the annual roster of countries where persecution of Christians is most extreme. Not surprisingly, China moved up in the rankings, from 19th to 15th place among the 50 nations profiled.
Outlining the reasons for the heightened repression of Christians in China, World Watch highlights the government’s efforts to bring religion into line with Communist philosophy through the Sinicization campaign; increased pressure on unregistered churches, including charging pastors with economic or political crimes; the ban on minors attending religious services; and pervasive surveillance of all religious leaders. The report points to a string of legislation targeting religious activity over the past seven years, as well as a sizeable number of believers detained and churches raided, as evidence of the shrinking space for Christianity in China.
Both the stringent legislation and the documented cases of repression are strong indicators of a worsening situation. Yet a deeper dive into the World Watch China dossier suggests that they do not tell the whole story. Focusing only on “what China is doing to Christians,” as seen in its draconian laws, or on individual cases, which concern only a tiny fraction of China’s sizeable Christian population, obscures the more complex picture of Christian life in China’s current environment.
“Lawfare” in China
As a friend from China recently reminded me, laws and regulations in China are strictly enacted, selectively enforced, and commonly ignored.
If all the regulations regarding religious activity in China were suddenly enforced uniformly across the country, the number of Christians in detention would increase exponentially. Instead, authorities wield laws and regulations as a tool to go after individuals and groups perceived as a threat. For the others, the deterrent effect of the legislation encourages self-censorship, for example, when house churches proactively move into small groups to avoid confrontation with authorities or when believers deliberately avoid contact with foreign Christians.
Legislation may provide a clear indication of the regime’s priorities (e.g., national security or ideological control) and may suggest the potential punishment awaiting believers whose activities fall outside the law. One cannot, however, draw a straight line between these laws and regulations and the actual situation of Christians on the ground.
Beyond Legal Action
Similarly, individual cases of repression are indicative, but not necessarily representative, of the challenges facing China’s Christians. Of the 21 cases detailed in the World Watch report, nearly half are connected to one high-profile church whose pastor has been outspoken in his criticism of the government, suggesting that the authorities still focus primarily on unregistered religious activities they view as a political threat (although they are obviously aware of the vast number of other unofficial groups that continue to proliferate).
Many activities, from religious discussions online to gathering in a house church or distributing unauthorized Christian publications, could potentially result in fines, detention, or worse. Yet concrete legal action against Christians is still relatively rare.
Far more pervasive is the Party’s tightening grip over media, education, and social life that has been systematically shrinking the space for religion in society, along with national security policies making it more difficult for China’s Christians to connect with the global church. Education has become increasingly politicized, exacerbating the dilemma of Christian parents who have no good alternatives to the state education system. Scattered reports of schools requiring students and their families to report their religious beliefs, along with the enforcement in recent years of restrictions on teaching religion to minors, may signal the Party is preparing for more aggressive anti-religious ideological education aimed at young people, along with penalties for Christian parents.
Rather than simply being told to stay out of trouble and contribute to the country’s development, Christians today are being required to pledge personal loyalty to the Party and to its leader, Xi Jinping. While Xi is not yet worshipped in the manner of Mao during the Cultural Revolution, Christians in the registered church are being pushed toward an extreme form of nationalism with the Sinicization campaign and Patriotic Education Law, which officially took effect on New Year’s Day 2024. This law explicitly states, “The state encourages and supports religious groups, religious schools, and places of religious activities to carry out patriotic education, enhance the national consciousness, citizen consciousness, legal consciousness, and patriotic sentiments of religious faculties and believers, and guide religions to adapt to the socialist society.”1 Several large TSPM churches have held lavish patriotic celebrations in observance of the law.
Many Christians who had for a time enjoyed more space in which to live out their faith are now struggling to keep their churches functioning. Spreading the gospel through social service, publishing, the Internet, and educational activities has become extremely difficult, requiring the church to develop new models of witness in this restrictive environment. Many who have the means to leave China have already done so (including hundreds of missionaries being sent out to the nations). Whereas the church growth of the past four decades was fueled by youth movements in the countryside and on university campuses, current restrictions specifically targeting the spread of the gospel among young people raise doubts about whether such growth can be expected in the future.
The Rest of the Story
The litany of challenges facing China’s Christians calls to mind the litany of perils that Paul enumerates in the closing verses of Romans 8, along with the ringing affirmation that “in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”
Focusing on offenses against Christians, the World Watch List robustly supports the prevailing persecution narrative and provides ample evidence of its accuracy. But spotlighting the work of the church’s antagonists carries with it the risk of losing sight of the main character, the bride of Christ in China. The story is only complete as we readjust our gaze and appreciate the resilience of China’s Christians, the creativity with which they approach every new challenge, and the remarkable staying power of the gospel in China, which has seen far worse days yet continues to transform the lives of millions.
Endnotes
- Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, Patriotic Education Law, October 24, 2023, translated by China Law Translate, October 24, 2023, accessed January 20, 2025, https://www.chinalawtranslate.com/en/patriotic-education-law/.
Originally from Webpage 'ChinaSource'
CCD reprinted with permission
