Faithwire
  • Watch
  • Go!
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • SCOTUS
  • Life
  • Religious Liberty
  • News
  • Politics
  • Faith
  • Opinion

China Demands Churches Praise Communist Regime If They Want to Reopen

AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
Share Tweet
By Tré Goins-Phillips
Editor

August 6, 2020

At the height of the coronavirus pandemic, churches within China’s government-approved network were forced to shut their doors. Now, if they want to reopen, they must first agree to praise President Xi Jinping and extol his communist regime.

According to Bitter Winter, a magazine covering religious liberty issues in China, the Religious Affairs Bureau of Zhengzhou released a 42-item list of prerequisites for churches seeking to reopen to congregants.

Christian Pastor Jailed in Myanmar for Preaching Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

The list includes orders to “intensify patriotic education” and “study China’s religious policies.” Churches are also compelled to promote the so-called “four requirements” campaign that began in 2018 to advance the “sinicization” of religion, in which non-Chinese cultures assimilate to Chinese influence.

Bitter Winter defined the “four requirements” this way: “ritually raising the national flag, often while singing the national anthem; teaching beliefs about, and promoting, the Chinese constitution, laws, and regulations; preaching and promoting the ‘core socialist values’; and promoting ‘China’s excellent traditional culture.’”

“Instead of a normal sermon, the preacher talked about the patriotism of medical workers during the epidemic, and their sacrifice to the state,” a member of a Three-Self (or government-backed) church told Bitter Winter. “These things are important, but political things were discussed for half of the time. Many believers complained afterward.”

Churches, though, that fail to comply with the dozens of government-mandated requirements are not allowed to reopen.

One church in Henan was barred from holding services because communist officials didn’t approve the pastor’s sermon, even though it praised medical workers for their heroism at the height of the epidemic.

From Bitter Winter:

Congregations in the prefecture-level city of Luoyang were exhilarated even for the smallest glimpse of hope to gather again, despite strict provisions. A member of a local Three-Self church told Bitter Winter that she cried from excitement because she “had to stay from the church for six months.”

Despite many preparations, her church was not allowed to reopen because the Religious Affairs Bureau did not approve the preacher’s sermons about the heroes of the epidemic prevention, which he had to hand in ahead of time. When the preacher rewrote the sermons, fulfilling all the requirements, the reopening was still canceled. This time, the authorities claimed that it was because “the epidemic is severe in Beijing.”

The preacher, though, pointed out that a “nearby swimming pool already reopened in May.”

“Why is it so difficult for the church to reopen?” he asked.

China Rips Crosses from Churches, Throwing to the Ground Elderly Man Trying to Stop It

One church deacon told the magazine: “None of the 11 places of worship in our area was approved for reopening. We were busy preparing to meet the requirements for reopening, but the government made things difficult for us in every respect.”

In addition to praising China, its one-party rule, and Xi’s handling of the coronavirus epidemic, ministers of government-backed churches have also been mandated to slander the United States. One pastor admitted he “had to preach as the state required” because, if he hadn’t, “the church would not have reopened.”

“The government said that churches must preach about national affairs if they want to reopen,” one church-goer from Sanmenxia said. “With Xi Jinping’s speeches as the main content, it’s better for churches not to reopen.”

Meanwhile, as Faithwire has reported at length, the Chinese government is continuing its assault on Christianity, tearing down crosses from churches and destroying worship centers around the country.

The country’s communist leadership is also committing what some have called genocide against its minority Muslim population, forcing them into concentration camps Xi’s regime has dubbed “re-education camps.”

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), though, thinks China is “a respectable nation among nations.” You can read more about that here and listen to my conversation about it with Faithwire Managing Editor Dan Andros here.

Latest

  • Faith

    Tim Allen Begins Reading New Testament, Reveals Which Book Has Left Him ‘Amazed’

  • News

    Evangelist Nick Vujicic Urges Christians to Embrace Biblical Counseling

  • Faith

    ‘This Is the Core Belief of New Thought’: Apologist Uncovers Deceptive Theologies

  • News

    Singer’s Wife Experiences Radical Miracle While Being Prayed Over: ‘Instant Healing’

  • Faith

    Mark Driscoll Condemns Stay-at-Home Dads as ‘Non-Christian’


Sponsored
Sponsored

Newsletter
Signup

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Recent Posts

  • Tim Allen Begins Reading New Testament, Reveals Which Book Has Left Him ‘Amazed’
  • Evangelist Nick Vujicic Urges Christians to Embrace Biblical Counseling
  • ‘This Is the Core Belief of New Thought’: Apologist Uncovers Deceptive Theologies
  • Singer’s Wife Experiences Radical Miracle While Being Prayed Over: ‘Instant Healing’
  • Mark Driscoll Condemns Stay-at-Home Dads as ‘Non-Christian’

Archives

  • June 2025
  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016

Categories

  • Christian Persecution
  • Coronavirus
  • Culture
  • culture
  • Entertainment
  • Faith
  • Faith
  • Family
  • George Floyd
  • Go!
  • Israel
  • Life
  • Life
  • Lifestyle
  • Media
  • Men
  • Mission Haiti
  • News
  • News
  • Opinion
  • P.O.V
  • Politics
  • Politics
  • Roe
  • Sponsored
  • Sports
  • Virtue
  • Women

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Navigation

  • Watch
  • Go!
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • Staff
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram

Subscribe to the Newsletter

Sign up to get our newsletter your inbox every day.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Newsletter Signup

Do you want to read
more articles like this?

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.