homeWorld

China orders Sichuan church to stop religious activities

A church in Sichuan province in China has been ordered to stop Christians from performing religious activities such as singing hymns, praying and chanting inside the church building.

Zhang Daichun, a member of the house church was handed a document titled "Notice of Order to Reform" on Sept. 2 with a threat to impose administrative penalties if the church fails to adhere to the order within 15 days.

An Evangelical church in Qingdao, Shandong Province, China | Wikimedia Commons/Gisling

The notice ordered the church to stop allowing foreign pastors and non-government appointed clerics to preach and conduct religious activities. The church was also ordered to stop Christians from performing religious activities such as singing hymns, praying and chanting.

The house church in Sichuan is just one of many churches facing harassment from Chinese authorities throughout the Communist country. House churches from Guangdong, Zhejiang, Anhui and Henan have been subjects of harassment in an ongoing crackdown on Christianity, China Aid reports.

The government recently released a draft of the revisions on the Regulations on Religious Affairs which will officially be implemented in October.

The draft, which contains nine chapters and 74 articles, includes restrictions against "organizing citizens to attend religious trainings, conferences and activities abroad," "preaching, organizing religious activities, and establishing religious institutions or religious sites at schools," and "providing religious services through the internet."

A pastor who only went by the name Zhou observed that the revised regulations demonstrate the Communist Party's intention to take control full of religion, according to a separate report from China Aid.

"The government wants to control everything, even the smallest aspects," said Zhou, adding, "One characteristic of this draft is the empowerment of local government bodies all the way down to the communities. This revision will further reduce the possibility of loosening religious control in China. It is becoming impossible."

Gao Baosheng, a pastor of the Unites States-based Chinese church, noted that the laws against religion are becoming more specific and detailed. He added that the revisions will result in "a religious winter so harsh that we must seek guidance from God."

About 20 lawyers, academics and religious leaders have sent a letter to the Chinese parliament to raise their objections against the proposed rules.