Like all communist party-states, the CCP maintains a general contempt for religion, viewing it as an existential threat to its absolute control over Chinese society. We should take them at their word: The CCP’s Administrative Measures for Religious Organizations clearly states that religious organizations must “educate and guide religious staff and religious citizens to support the leadership of the CCP and support the socialist system.”
Beijing has set an explicit goal of eliminating all religion from China, but it recognizes that such radical change takes time. The result is draconian restrictions placed on faith and the politicization of religious teachings, with the hope that, gradually, such life-draining constraints will deprive faith of its ability to speak to people.
Beijing’s goal of eliminating religion stems from a broader quest to impose ideological uniformity on China, and...
Larry Pan | 7/4/2009
