Crosses removed from churches under Chinese Govt policy

Churches in China are having their crosses removed under an oppressive Government policy to force religious groups to become ‘more Chinese’.

The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) new policy on the “sinicization of religion” aims to completely assimilate religious groups into its political agenda, but has led to calls for the country to be redesignated as a “Country of Particular Concern” for violations of religious freedom.

The call came in a new US report on “China’s Coercive Religious Policy”, published in September by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), which makes policy recommendations to the US government.

’Sinicization’

The report gives examples of sinicization, stating: “The government has ordered the removal of crosses from churches”.

Other outworkings of the policy on Christians were how they “required the display of CCP slogans at the entrances of churches, censored religious texts, imposed CCP-approved religious materials, and instructed clergy to preach CCP ideology”.

The USCIRF states the Chinese government has engaged in “systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom”.

The organisation concluded that China has “routinely violated the internationally protected right to freedom of religion or belief”.

UK special envoy

Following the UK’s general election, David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, has not yet appointed a new Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief despite calls to prioritise this.

Mervyn Thomas, president of Christian Solidarity Worldwide said: “I’m very disappointed that the government hasn’t seen this as urgent enough to appoint one fairly quickly after coming to power.”

The Bishop of Winchester Rt Rev Philip Mounstephen warned that the UK risks “losing hard-earned traction in this critical area” from delaying this appointment.

An annual ministerial conference on freedom of religion or belief took place in Berlin last week, but for the first time since 2019 the UK did not send a high level of representation.