The Chinese Government’s Perception of Religion as a Threat to State Authority
The Chinese authorities have a longstanding and deeply-rooted perception that religion poses a substantial threat to state control and social stability, a view shaped by historical precedents and ideological imperatives. Throughout Chinese history, religious movements and prophetic figures have served as rallying points for opposition to ruling powers, leading the government to remain especially wary of independent religious activity. This apprehension is further reinforced by the traditions of Confucianism and Taoism, both of which contain expectations of predicted or idealized individuals—such as the sage or the junzi—who are believed to restore social harmony and rightful order, often in times when rulers are viewed as having lost virtue or legitimacy. In practice, these traditions have at times justified resistance against corrupt or tyrannical rulers, bolstering religion’s reputation as a nucleus for opposition.
In modern times, following the collapse of the Soviet Union—a process in which religious faith was deemed a key factor undermining Marxist-Leninist regimes—the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) concluded that persistent religion could challenge state ideology and threaten its grip on power. Officially atheist and ideologically committed to socialism, the CCP portrays religion as a vehicle for disloyalty, separatism, subversion, and foreign influence. Consequently, religious activities and organizations that exist outside the tight control of the state are regarded with suspicion and frequently targeted for repression.
Suppression of Religion and Rooting Out Predicted Restoration Figures
The CCP's anxiety about religiously-inspired figures restoring order is not theoretical; it is rooted in the traditions of Confucianism and Taoism, where “predicted persons”—sages, wise rulers, or divinely inspired leaders—are expected to emerge in times of disorder, restore virtue, and even depose unjust governments. Confucian teachings emphasize the role of the junzi or sage, an exemplary individual whose moral authority could surpass—or even justify replacing—a corrupt ruling order. Similarly, Taoist traditions often honor sages or semi-divine leaders who, in times of chaos, show the way to harmony, sometimes in opposition to the established order. These cultural motifs have historically legitimized uprisings and reform movements led by religious or spiritual authorities. As a result, the CCP’s policies are driven by an enduring fear that religions might spawn charismatic leaders capable of challenging the regime’s authority or inspiring mass resistance.
Mechanisms of State Control and Oppression
To prevent religion from becoming a source of opposition or alternative loyalty, the CCP has developed a comprehensive system of legal, bureaucratic, and extralegal controls over religious life. The main mechanisms of oppression include:
Strict Registration and Supervision: The state recognizes only five religions—Buddhism, Daoism, Islam, Catholicism, and Protestantism—which are required to register under state-sanctioned "patriotic associations". Religious leaders, places of worship, activities, literature, and funding are all tightly regulated. Any religious activity outside this framework—such as underground house churches or independent groups—is criminalized, and participants face harassment, fines, closure, and detention.
Forced Ideological Indoctrination (“Sinicization”): Religions must align their doctrines and practices with socialist principles and actively propagate CCP ideology. Educational campaigns, forced rewriting of sacred texts, and imposition of “patriotic education” in places of worship are methods used to bend religious thought to the party’s will.
Surveillance and Infiltration: Widespread surveillance—by electronic means and informant networks—is deployed in places of worship, homes, and online religious spaces. High-tech tools such as facial-recognition cameras are installed in churches, and authorities monitor online sermons or religious content, with harsh penalties for unauthorized activities.
Control over Religious Leadership and Succession: The state meddles in the selection and training of clerics and monastics, sometimes installing state-approved religious leaders or interfering in the succession of spiritual authorities (notably in Tibetan Buddhism with the Panchen Lama).
Criminalization of Religious Activities and Widespread Human Rights Abuses
The CCP's campaign to eradicate perceived threats posed by religion results in severe repression and widespread suffering among religious people in China. The following are illustrative examples of crimes and abuses committed by the Chinese government in relation to religious activities:
Mass Arbitrary Detention: Over one million Uyghur Muslims and other Turkic minorities have been held in “reeducation camps” in Xinjiang, where detainees are subjected to torture, ideological indoctrination, and coerced renunciation of faith. Detainees are punished for entirely lawful behaviors, such as possessing a Quran or communicating with relatives abroad, with reports of beatings, shackling, and psychological abuse being rampant.
Systematic Destruction of Religious Sites: The authorities have demolished more than two-thirds of Xinjiang’s mosques, destroyed Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and statues, removed crosses from churches, and repurposed religious sites for secular uses.
Forced Disappearances and Torture: Religious activists and community leaders are frequently “disappeared,” tortured, and sentenced to long terms in prison for peaceful acts such as organizing prayer meetings or defending religious freedom.
Surveillance and Family Separation: Religious communities, especially Uyghur Muslims, endure pervasive, round-the-clock surveillance and family separation, with children of detained parents being sent to state-run orphanages.
Invasive State Indoctrination and Reeducation: Religious practitioners—Tibetan monks and nuns, Christian pastors, Uyghur Muslims—are forced into political reeducation programs that require them to denounce their faith or spiritual leaders, pledge loyalty to the CCP, and memorize party doctrine.
Organ Harvesting and Forced Labor: There are documented reports of forced labor in detention camps and credible allegations that religious prisoners (particularly Falun Gong practitioners and Uyghur Muslims) have been subjected to organ harvesting for the transplant industry.
Book and Artifact Destruction: Religious texts, such as Bibles and Qurans, are confiscated and destroyed, while religious literature is censored or rewritten to conform with CCP ideology.
Nature and Impact of Religious Suffering in China
The policy of state oppression of religion causes profound and multidimensional suffering among religious believers in China. These include:
Loss of Religious Freedom and Identity: Individuals are denied the ability to practice, teach, and pass on their traditions, resulting in the loss of cultural and spiritual identity for entire communities.
Psychological and Physical Trauma: The experience of arbitrary arrest, surveillance, family separation, and forced renunciation of faith inflicts enduring psychological harm and trauma.
Social and Economic Marginalization: Believers are subject to job loss, exclusion from educational opportunities, and harassment for refusing to comply with state-mandated religious practices.
Destruction of Community Cohesion: Intrusive state controls and forced separation of families and leaders weaken community cohesion and erode networks of mutual support.
Conclusion: Religion as a Tool of Resistance and a Target for Suppression
The Chinese government’s campaign of repression against religion derives directly from its assessment that, historically and philosophically, religion has been used to challenge state power—an assessment informed by the presence, in Chinese traditions, of savior or restorer figures who confront unjust rule. Consequently, the CCP seeks to eradicate independent religious activity, not simply as a matter of public policy, but as an existential imperative to preserve the regime’s exclusive moral and political authority. The result is a vast system of state-sponsored oppression that inflicts widespread and systematic suffering on religious people across China, depriving them not only of their rights but also of essential elements of their cultural and spiritual lives.
