China’s Communist Regime Replacing Church Crosses With Xi Jinping Portraits

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is intensifying its campaign to bring religious groups under its control by replacing crosses on churches with portraits of President Xi Jinping. A recent report from the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom reveals that the CCP is also altering religious texts and instructing clergy to promote messages aligned with Communist ideology.

This campaign, known as the “Sinicization of religion,” is part of a broader effort by the Chinese government to bring all religious practices in line with state mandates. Catholic churches are required to register with state-controlled associations such as the Bishops’ Conference of the Catholic Church in China, which is managed by the CCP.

The report highlights that those who refuse to comply with these regulations, including underground Catholic communities, face significant persecution. Under China’s anti-cult laws, defying the CCP can lead to imprisonment or indefinite detention. State-sanctioned churches, on the other hand, are tightly monitored and controlled by the government.

The study also revisits the Vatican’s 2018 agreement with China, in which both parties agreed to cooperate on the selection of bishops. Despite this, the CCP has bypassed the Vatican in many cases and detained bishops it sees as politically dangerous. Cardinal Joseph Zen, a well-known figure from Hong Kong, was convicted in 2022 after supporting pro-democracy activists during the 2019 protests.

Similar challenges are seen in the West, where churches are often targeted for vandalism, such as in France and Canada. Additionally, institutions like the Olympics have been criticized for openly mocking Christianity, raising further concerns about the global erosion of religious freedoms.