Authorities in Shanxi, China, are ordering people receiving government assistance to replace religious icons in their homes, replacing images of Jesus with images of Chairman Mao and President Xi Jinping. If they refuse to do this, they will no longer receive assistance.
Last week, religious freedom magazine Bitter Winter reported that in April, officials in Linfen city, Shanxi province, were asked to inspect and remove religious symbols from the homes of those welfare recipients, and replaced by communist leaders. Those who complain will have their social welfare benefits canceled.
This policy also applies to members of state-run churches. A member of the Three-Self Church, the official Protestant denomination of the Chinese Communist Party, told Bitter Winter that Jesus images and religious calendars had been taken down from his home and replaced with pictures. of Chairman Mao.
Social benefits will be cut off if the photos of Chairman Mao and Xi are not posted
Like much of the world, China's economy has been hit by the coronavirus pandemic and has left many people dependent on government subsidies. At the same time authorities have overseen a new crackdown on places of worship.
A teacher at a house church said that the cross and the image of Jesus Christ were replaced with a picture of Chairman Mao in May. He said: “The government is trying to get rid of our faith and wants to be back. become God instead of Jesus.”
A Christian with a disability in Shanxi said his disability benefits were revoked because he attended church. His wife said they would be seen as "anti-party elements" if they continued to attend church.
In April, an elderly woman in Henan province said her minimum subsistence allowance was canceled when officials discovered a cross on her door. The woman who has diabetes and needs regular injections has lost all government aid because of her religious faith.
In Shandong province, officials raided the home of a Christian and posted pictures of Chairman Mao and Xi Jinping. They told this person that “if you want to worship someone, Chairman Mao and Xi Jinping are the ones you need to worship.”
Why does Xi Jinping want the Bible to conform to the Communist Party's line?
At a meeting on November 6, 2019, the Chinese authorities asked religious leaders to review reference texts in accordance with "new age requirements". According to historian Yves Chiron, the announcement was a logical continuation of Xi Jinping's policy of nationalization.
“There needs to be a complete review of existing translations of classical religion. For inappropriate contents, the texts must be revised and re-translated”, it was with these words that the Communist Party of China told religious leaders during a meeting held on May 7. November 6, 2019. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, China has been a country that closely follows religions, intensifying the Communist Party's social stranglehold. Historian Yves Chiron Yves Chiron, author of The Long Way of China's Catholics (La longue marche des catholiques de Chine, nxb. Artège) explained to Aleteia newspaper, "If religion cannot be suppressed, Xi Jinping seeks to change religion.”
By restricting religious freedom, what does the communist regime want?
Yves Chiron: The communist regime wants religions to serve the purpose of the Communist Party and thus to build socialism. Xi Jinping knows he cannot use a massive crackdown to make religion disappear, so he pursues a way of controlling and instrumentalizing the Christian and Muslim faiths. This is a policy aimed at the Catholic Church, but also at Protestants and Muslims.
“For Xi Jinping, religions have to adapt to the Chinese culture and values, and from there, the transition of Marxist values.”
This is not a spectacular announcement, but it is a close logical continuation of a political attempt to nationalize society that Xi Jinping announced many years ago. When he first used the word "Chineseization" in 2011, he meant to apply it to Marxism. Since 2015, he believes this must also apply to religions present in China. For him, religions must adapt to Chinese culture and values, and hence the transition of Marxist values.
What will be the consequences for the already complicated relationship between believers and the regime?
It is a daily and increasingly stricter control, not only on religious institutions but also on all religious activities in general. In China, not a single Christian newspaper, not a theological journal, exists. There are occasional church or temple newsletters, but all must be controlled by the regime.
But when Christmas comes, the controls are even stricter: the government launches a boycott campaign because they consider it a betrayal of Chinese culture, they ban Christmas decorations in schools. In many schools, children are punished for saying they are going to Christmas. This is due to a regulation passed two years ago that prohibits children under the age of 18 from going to churches or temples.
The regime wants to "gradually form a religious ideology with Chinese characteristics". In the end, the goal is to eliminate all religions?
In Marxist ideology, religion is the "opium of the people," a superstructure that must be eliminated. But the conscious mode, in fact, cannot eliminate religion at once. Without destroying religion, they seek to transform religion. This policy of centralization led to the recent campaign to put up church posters. The authorities try to prove by quotations that the twelve great values of socialism also correspond directly to the Bible, thus proclaiming the socialist message.
The regime's tight control over religions dates back to 1949, from the founding of the People's Republic of China. Does this particularly serious decision indicate that the regime has entered a new level?
In my opinion, this is a logical continuation of the policy pursued by Xi Jinping since 2013. But in the decade 1966-1976, the period known as the Cultural Revolution, the situation was even worse. No form of worship is allowed: even "official" churches (of Muslims are those approved by the state) are closed, as are evangelical churches. No form of worship exists in China. Today, even when religious freedom is severely impeded, official churches are open and religion is not banned.
Is there really a religious belief in China?
Maybe, because no country, at any time, can stop people from believing. The regime's aim is in the long run to eliminate religion in China, but of course they will not be able to achieve it.
The Vatican signed an agreement in 2018 recognizing seven bishops appointed by the regime. Some Catholics then protested, especially Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, who denounced a "betrayal". Does this new attack by the regime make you right?
The various measures taken by the Chinese authorities after the agreement are in conflict with this agreement. The regime's aim remains to exercise greater control over the Catholic Church, and to toolize dogma for political purposes. Apparently, by signing this agreement, the Pope was trying to protect the freedom of the Church and ensure his continuity in China, where many dioceses do not have bishops… He has a reason. to sign this agreement. But China and the Holy See pursue different interests. It is possible that the Vatican is less able to respond to this new attack by the regime. The Pope is well aware that 11 million Chinese Catholics will go to Christmas under very difficult conditions. He wouldn't want to make the situation worse.