China's religious authorities plan to develop own Christian theology!

According to the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP), China is planning to develop an own Christian theology. "This is not to be seen as a chance for more religious freedom in China: The government will surely use the Chinese Christian theology to spoon-feed the believers and to monitor them more effectively, as the experiences with Tibetan Buddhism and Islam in China – which the state's religious authorities are trying to monopolize – suggest," said Ulrich Delius, the STP's Asia-consultant in Göttingen on Friday. "Whenever China's socialist leaders propagate their own views concerning cultural and religious values, we need to be cautious. This always entails human rights restrictions for China's citizens – despite the fact that the People's Republic is obliged to respect international human rights standards."

On Thursday, during an interview with the daily newspaper "China Daily", the director of the state's religious authority, Wang Zuon, stated that China is planning to develop its own version of Christianity, to better reflect China's national characteristics. "Anyone who believes this must be naive," said Delius. "What other interests could an avowed atheistic leadership have than to monitor China's religious boom. This is similar to general human rights issues. China's leaders rely on so-called own cultural and social values to question international human rights standards."

Due to its constitution, China is obliged to respect the freedom of religion. However, there are frequent infringements concerning Protestant house churches, the Catholic Church, Tibetan Buddhism and Islam in Xinjiang / East Turkestan. For example, the Chinese state intervenes with matters of Tibetan Buddhism by enforcing certain Panchen Lamas. Also, abbots of Buddhist monasteries are dismissed at will – and nuns or monks are forced to sign letters in which they renounce their religious leader. In Xinjiang / East Turkestan, Muslim leaders are brainwashed or forced to cooperate with the security services – and the religious rules of Ramadan and the Muslim dress codes are systematically breached.

"A Christian theology developed by China's religious authorities would bring the Christian churches in China into line even more," warned Delius. "Although even the Vatican has tried to move closer, this must be seen as a Trojan horse: Christians in China should be aware!"

STP's Asia-consultant Ulrich Delius is available for further questions: +49 551 499 06 27 or asien@gfbv.de.

Header Photo: Marc Veraart/Flickr