Beijing’s top govt advisor asks Christian community groups to align beliefs with Chinese culture

In a bid to sinicise Christian festivities and tighten control over organised religion, Beijing’s top political adviser Wang Huning has asked the Chinese Christian groups to ensure “strict” management of religious affairs.

While meeting with Protestant religious leaders during their once in five years national congress in Beijing last week, Wang asked the groups to guide Protestant figures and believers to be patriotic and enhance their identification with the nation, Chinese culture, the party, and socialism with Chinese characteristics, Xinhua reported on Sunday.

The call from Wang came days after the 11th National Chinese Christian Congress, held over Wednesday and Thursday, elected new leaders for the two state-sanctioned Protestant groups in the country.

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'Sinicisation of Christianity'

He said that Christian groups “should adhere to the direction of Sinicisation of Christianity” and “interpret the doctrines that conform to the development and progress requirements of contemporary China, thecore values of socialismand the excellent traditional Chinese culture”.

He also urged them to “adhere to comprehensive and strict governance of religions, and carry out religious activities in accordance with laws and regulations”.

The sinicsation of religion is a by-product of Xi Jinping’s overarching policy to control all facts of the religious practices in the Communist Party-ruled country, which officially practices atheism.

But it recognises five religions—Buddhism, Catholicism, Daoism, Islam, and Protestantism.

About7.4 per cent of China's total population identify themselvesas Christians, according to Boston University’s 2020 World Religion Database.

Of those, around 90 per cent of Christians in China identify themselves as Protestant, a Pew Research Centre analysis of the latest available survey data collected by academic organisations in China showed.

Xi tightens grip on religious affairs

In December 2021, during a religious work conference, Xi had said that the religious groups should study the history of the Chinese Communist Party and strengthen the governance of online religious affairs.

The party’s policy on freedom of religious belief must be “completely, accurately and comprehensively” implemented, and religions must adapt to the fact that China is a socialist country, Xi said at that time.

However, concerns have been raised against Xi Jinping’s handling of religious affairs in the country.

In the annual US State Department report on International Religious Freedom released in May, Beijing said to have labelled a number of Christian groups as “cult organisations”, and censored online posts referencing Jesus or the Bible, and removed articles published by Christianity-related platforms.

(With inputs from agencies)