Listeners:
Top listeners:
-
play_arrow
Devout Christians In China Face New Online Crackdown (Worthy News Focus)
by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent
BEIJING (Worthy News) – Devout Chinese Christians seeking to spread the Gospel online face new challenges after the Communist government banned such expressions as part of a crackdown on the spread of religion through the internet.
The State Administration for Religious Affairs (SARA) published the “Code of Conduct for Religious Clergy on the Internet” this month, an 18-article regulation that prohibits the online publication of religious content not approved by the government, Worthy News documented Friday.
The rules forbid religious teaching, livestreams, online courses, and commercial promotion on social media accounts, WeChat groups, and other digital platforms unless conducted through state-authorized channels, according to official documents reviewed by Worthy News.
The code also bars the use of artificial intelligence for religious promotion — a loophole some Christian evangelists had reportedly used.
Religious leaders are required to “adhere to the Sinicization of our country’s religions, actively guide religions to adapt to socialist society, and promote religious, social, and ethnic harmony when using the Internet,” Article 3 states.
Christian observers say the measures are part of President Xi Jinping’s ongoing drive to “Sinicize” religion by aligning faiths with Communist Party ideology. Under this policy, religious organizations are expected to pledge loyalty to the state, purge “foreign” influences, and reinterpret teachings in line with socialist values.
TIGHTER IDEOLOGICAL CONTROL
“This is not a response to isolated religious phenomena but rather a systemic effort to incorporate religious activity into the broader online information management system,” an anonymous Chinese religious policy researcher told the advocacy group ChinaAid. “In the government’s view, religion may not only become an ideological ‘gray zone’ but also use online tools to expand its influence, which is precisely what they are trying to prevent and control.”
Violators face censorship, loss of clergy credentials, and possible criminal investigation, Worthy News learned.
A senior Chinese cleric told The Pillar that the new regulations also apply to those outside China. “If any cleric was caught having anything to do with a missionary, that’s ‘infiltration,’” the cleric warned. “As always with these regulations, the aim is to criminalize anything from outside China.”
Despite the risks, Christian groups continue to encourage believers inside China. Kurt Rovenstine of the U.S.-based mission organization Bibles for China urged prayers that local leaders would “have creativity and courage to know what God is leading them to do, to continue to be the spiritual leaders within China and be obedient to the Word of God and not the mandates of man.”
China has steadily tightened its grip on churches, both state-registered and underground. According to Open Doors’ World Watch List 2025, China ranks 15th among the world’s most dangerous countries for Christians — a rise of four places from the prior year.
GROWTH AMID PERSECUTION
There has been concern that religious life is under pressure in China, yet Christian organizations point to a growing number of born-again believers.
Estimates vary widely: some international researchers suggest 70 to 100 million Christians in China, while others put the number even higher. Certain advocacy groups and mission organizations say the figure could already exceed 130 million, making China one of the largest Christian populations in the world.
Observers caution that precise figures are hard to verify due to restrictions, the presence of unregistered house churches, and fear among believers of disclosing their faith.
Yet the trend suggests that Christianity continues to expand in the country of roughly 1.4 billion people, and in some cases, because of persecution.
The latest internet code underscores the Communist Party’s resolve to enclose religious expression within state boundaries. For China’s millions of Christians, it means navigating yet another tightening of both their public and digital space for faith expression.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
Christians in northeastern Pakistan expressed grief Sunday over the killing of a young Christian man by armed Muslims who also allegedly threatened women, sources told Worthy News.
U.S. President Donald J. Trump and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced Sunday that the United States and Iran had reached what they described as a peace agreement aimed at ending months of conflict and reopening the strategically important Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. President Donald J. Trump criticized an Israeli airstrike on Beirut Sunday that overshadowed his 80th birthday and threatened to complicate efforts to finalize a U.S.-Iran framework agreement aimed at ending months of armed conflict across the Middle East.
British commandos and law enforcement officers boarded and detained a Russian-linked “shadow fleet” oil tanker in the English Channel on Sunday in what officials described as the first UK-led operation of its kind aimed at disrupting Moscow’s ability to finance its war in Ukraine.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announced Friday that her office has uncovered newly declassified evidence showing the U.S. government funded more than 120 biological laboratories in more than 30 countries, including facilities in Ukraine that officials previously warned could be vulnerable amid Russia’s ongoing war.
Iran has denied instigating massive protests in Albania, a member of the NATO military alliance, against a multi-billion-dollar luxury resort linked to the son-in-law of U.S. President Donald J. Trump.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency has fired 70 employees in Gaza with immediate effect, saying the move was necessary “to mitigate safety and security risks” for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA personnel, and agency facilities amid long-running Israeli allegations that Hamas has deeply infiltrated the agency.
WHO WE ARE
The Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs encapsulate the beauty, wisdom, and eternal truths found in the Bible, creating an immersive experience that resonates with believers and seekers alike.
CONTACT
- +1 908 280-4246
- Essex County, USA
- info@tnjrfm.com