China’s state-sanctioned religious bodies have had to speak for communist policies as the regime has become “increasingly hostile” to snuff out any religious beliefs, said a bipartisan U.S. federal government commission.
“In 2021, religious freedom conditions in China deteriorated,” the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) said in its 2022 annual report (pdf) released on April 25. Findings show Chinese authorities “continued to vigorously implement its ‘sinicization of religion’ policy and demand that religious groups and adherents support the Chinese Communist Party’s [CCP] rule and ideology.”
“Throughout 2021, the State Administration for Religious Affairs … and other agencies issued new legal measures, imposing further restrictions on clergy, religious schools, and religious content on the internet.”
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