ICC Note:

2016 has been a difficult year for Christians in China. Beijing has come down hard on religion. UCA News notes that China is “restricting, harassing, torturing, and in some cases even killing members of these religious groups.” But as China tries to force believers to join state-run churches, they may instead force believers and entire congregations to go underground. Religious leaders who once tried to stay compliant with China’s regulations will eventually reach a tipping point and choose to operate outside the state-sanctioned system. Believers in China have already shown their willingness to do so by the millions and perhaps hundreds of millions.

12/28/2016 China (UCA News) – The atheist Communist Party has recently made clear its latest strategy for controlling religious groups across China. Beijing has started to assign certificates detailing the secular name, religious name, national ID card number and a new, unique faith number to Buddhist monks across the country.

By the end of this year, authorities will require the same of Catholic and Taoist priests, state-run broadcaster CCTV and nationalist tabloid Global Times reported earlier this month. Protestantism and Islam — the other two of China’s five officially recognized religions — will surely face orders to follow suit in the near future.

Those religious personnel without certificates will be barred from engaging in religious activities, according to the State Administration for Religious Affairs, the government body that manages religious activity across China.

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