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What do new trends mean for religious persecution?

 

Christianity in China (#39 on the World Watch List) has always lived in tension. Though the Communist Party of China has habitually restricted the freedom of Christians to worship over the last 70 years, the skyrocketing growth of the Chinese church is impossible to miss. Even non-Christian observers have taken notice, with many outlets putting the true number of Christians at tens of millions more than the Chinese government officially recognizes.

 

The official government line is that freedom of religion is guaranteed in the Chinese constitution. And technically, that’s true—but it comes with a huge asterisk. The constitution enshrines that the state “protects normal religious activities,” which means the Communist Party is responsible for determining what “normal religious activities” are.

 

Still, the church in China has grown rapidly, even as the government’s tolerance for Christianity seemed to increase. Indeed, theologian Dr. Richard Mouw wrote earlier in 2017 that “[local religious leaders ] do not see President Xi Jinping as hostile to Christianity as such.”

 

It seems that the days of wholesale persecution are gone … right?

 

In the last few months, we’ve seen numerous developments that suggest things are not as good for Christians in China as they might publicly seem. What will these trends mean for Christians in China—and how can Christians around the world pray for their sisters and brothers during this period of uncertainty?

 

Read More: 3 Troubling Developments Facing Christians in China – Open Doors USA