China: Not all religions are regarded as equal

Although this is nothing new, it is worth keeping in mind that all religions are not equal in Communist China. While all religions are considered ‘opium for the people’ according to Marxist-Leninist doctrine, religions which are seen as being more indigenous, such as Buddhism and Taoism, enjoy a certain level of (increasing) state support, as a recent analysis explained (Council on Foreign Relations, 14 May 2024). Other religions, such as Islam or Christianity, are perceived as being foreign and therefore undesirable.

World Watch Research analyst Thomas Muller explains: “Beijing’s approach towards Catholicism can be described as ‘controlling by diplomacy’ and seems to be working reasonably well, as could be seen most recently at a conference in Rome on 21 May 2024 commemorating a landmark meeting in 1924, in which foreign missionaries in Shanghai affirmed the need for local church leadership. The commemoration took place in the Vatican and included a keynote address by the Catholic bishop of Shanghai, Joseph Shen Bin. This has been termed ‘the first time in memory’ that China’s Communist authorities allowed a mainland bishop to participate and even speak at a conference in the Vatican (AP News, 21 May 2024).”

Thomas Muller adds: “On the Protestant side, non-registered house churches are facing extreme pressure from state authorities to join the state-approved Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM). The TSPM is the subject of a comprehensive study published in 2021 (China Source, 22 May 2024) and covers the hotly debated topics of Sinicization and of who is ultimately in charge in TSPM churches. The author describes the relationship with the Communist authorities as a balance between domination and circumvention. How this balance plays out in the long term, remains to be seen.”