China is set to tighten control over religions practised in the country after President Xi Jinping stressed on the “sinicisation” of faith and uniting “believers” around the Communist Party and socialist values at a conference held in Beijing last week.
“China must adhere to the direction of the sinicisation of religion, insist on uniting the masses of religious believers around the party and the government,” Xi said.
Religions in China should be developed in the Chinese context and active guidance should be provided for the adaptation of religions to the socialist society, he said.
Xi spoke during a two-day national conference on work related to religious affairs held in Beijing from Friday to Saturday. A similar conference was last held in 2016, giving direction to China’s policies on religion for the next five years.
Similarly, last week’s high-level conference is expected to set the parameters on how China’s religious affairs will be developed in the next few years.
Xi’s call for sinicisation of religions, which essentially means moulding religions according to Chinese socialist norms, comes against the backdrop of accusations that the government is oppressing Muslims and Buddhists in Xinjiang and Tibet respectively, and intermittently cracking down on Christianity, said to be the fastest developing religion in China.
“Efforts should be made to keep enhancing the recognition of the motherland, the Chinese nation, the Chinese culture, the CPC and socialism with Chinese characteristics among religious personages and believers,” Xi said at the conference.
“Religious activities should be carried out within the scope stipulated by laws and regulations, and should not impair the health of citizens, offend public order and good morals, interfere with educational, judicial and administrative affairs as well as social life,” he said.
Xi highlighted the importance of adopting a holistic view of national security in religious work, and of “strengthening the management of online religious affairs”, which, according to the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post (SCMP), is a step up from a 2018 regulation.
That restricted the distribution of religious information online.
China officially recognises five religions: Buddhism, Catholicism, Protestantism, Taoism and Islam. The country’s Constitution guarantees religious freedom, which is protected by law but in reality the freedom to practise religion is severely restricted.
In 2018, China released a “white paper” religion, directing the religious groups to support the leadership of the CPC and be subordinate to the interests of the nation and its people
The white paper titled China’s Policies and Practices on Protecting Freedom of Religious Belief said the country’s 200 million believers should be “actively guiding religions in adapting to the socialist society”.