China's new restrictions on churches

It will be implemented in China from March 1, 2022, which will make online gatherings illegal for unregistered churches. The law will also outlaw the sharing of religious content on social media.

Under the new law, Christians will need an "Internet Religious Information Services License" to post or share anything online. In practice, this license will only be granted to "legal" churches that have a license to establish and operate.

The Chinese Communist Party has long seen religion as a potential threat. Where they can not shut down churches, they have tried to curb it.

Christian sources in China have told the Open Doors Institute in the United States that they have already removed the religious content of social media in anticipation of the new law.

The two state-controlled denominations, the Roman Catholic Church and the Patriotic Protestant movement, are exempt from the new rules.

Thomas Müller, an Asian analyst for the Christian charity Open Doors, said even state-controlled churches would be affected by the law.

China is ranked 17th on the Open Doors World Watch List of countries where Christians face the worst persecution. 

 

Source and Credit: CT, CN