Xi and Mao replace Jesus and Mary in Chinese churches

The sudden order to remove the symbol of the cross from the roof and entrance of a village church in China's Anhui province cited unspecified "safety" hazards.

The notice, issued in March, was a shock to the church in Yongqing, eastern China, which had reportedly passed official safety inspections for the cross on the roof five years ago. The second cross had stood at the door of the church for over 40 years without any security concerns.

ChinaAid, a US-based group that advocates for religious freedom in China, alleged the order had been made by the villagers' committee with no legal basis, suggesting it may have originated with higher-level authorities who wanted to avoid international criticism.

Party slogans and censorship

It was one of multiple examples of oppression cited in a report last week by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an agency that reviews violations of religious freedoms overseas and makes policy recommendations to the President and Congress.

In their effort to "exert total control" over religion and to "sinicise" Catholic and Protestant Christianity, the authorities have "ordered the removal of crosses from churches [and] replaced images of Jesus Christ or the Virgin Mary with pictures of President Xi Jinping ," the report said.

The Chinese government has also required "the display of CCP [Chinese Communist Party] slogans at the entrances of churches, censored religious texts, imposed CCP-approved religious materials, and instructed clergy to preach CCP ideology," the USCIRF report said.

Its investigation pointed to a report from 2019 of a Catholic church in the eastern province of Jiangxi that was forced to replace a painting of the Virgin Mary with her child with one of President Xi.

Other similar instances have been recently reported by local media and human rights groups.

An image from a separate church shows a photograph of Mr Xi at the end of one arm of a cross and Chairman Mao at the end of the other.

The report concluded that "every facet of religious life for Buddhists, Catholics and Protestant Christians, Muslims, and Taoists" was facing pressure to incorporate CCP ideology, and religious elements considered contradictory to the state's political agenda were being eradicated.

"Under Xi Jinping's rule as the paramount leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the government has implemented the coercive "sinicisation of religion" policy, which has fundamentally transformed China's religious environment," it said.

The communist regime has enforced controls on religion for decades, prompting a split between "patriotic" state-sanctioned churches and unrecognised denominations sometimes referred to as "underground" churches, which operate openly but with caution.

Restrictions began to intensify in 2018 under revised regulations for religious affairs which aimed to compel religious organisations to come under state control.

Since then, informal churches and worshippers have come under more scrutiny, many have been shut down, and prominent clergy have been arrested. Prohibitions on all children under the age of 18 receiving religious education have been strictly enforced.

Christians in China who spoke to The Telegraph, but requested anonymity out of fear of repercussions, said they had noticed a marked increase in state surveillance of their church activities since 2018.

They said commercial premises, under pressure from the authorities, were refusing to rent space to unsanctioned churches, forcing them to split into smaller groups. Meanwhile, the government had become particularly sensitive about enforcing rules to deny children's access to religious venues.

"If the authorities discover you have any kids' or 'next generation' activities related to religion, they have to take action," said one Christian from southern China.

Harassment on rise

Wu Lixin, a water purifier factory owner who used to provide a venue for a house church in Shenzhen, fled to Los Angeles in 2023 after facing increasing harassment from public security officials.

"They disturbed our company and summoned me to the police station for questioning weekly, asking me to stop engaging in 'illegal activities'. I questioned why believing in God was considered illegal," he said.

In 2021, a church gathering of about 100 worshippers was raided by the police, who took 10 people away for questioning. In another instance, the police blocked a baptism ceremony at a remote seaside location, accusing the group of "illegal religious activities".

Mr Wu said that hotel managers were pressured by the police to stop meetings on their premises, and his own landlord was urged to rent the space to someone else. He also alleged his son faced discrimination in the workplace because of his religious beliefs.

"They used facial recognition to identify and harass congregants, threatening their jobs and families to stop them from attending meetings," he said.

"Due to this persecution, many congregants were forced to leave China. Our church has relocated four or five times, moving frequently due to police interference. Many former brothers in the church no longer dare to believe."

Alex Zhao, a member of a house church in Chengdu, south-west China, said the police would try to control church venues by cutting the power or terminating rental contracts.

Pressure on parents

"During gatherings, police raids occur, terminating and dispersing the meetings. Congregations gathering in residential areas for convenience face systematic harassment," he said.

"Church workers and leaders are frequently monitored, followed, and harassed."

For parents, banned from passing on their beliefs to their children, the pressure was particularly tough, Mr Zhao added.

To counter the controls, Christians developed "guerrilla-style gatherings", booking hotel or teahouse rooms for meetings. But for some, the deepening harassment was too much to bear.

"Some members have fled China, while others have left the church," said Mr Zhao.

A spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in London said the USCIRF report "disregards basic facts about China, instigates ideological confrontation, smears China's religious policies, interferes in China's affairs and engages in political manipulation". He added: "We firmly oppose this and will never accept it."

The Chinese government protected freedom normal religious activities and "people of all ethnic groups in China are fully entitled to the freedom of religious belief as prescribed by law," he said, adding the US agency should read "China's Policies and Practices on Protecting Freedom of Religious Belief" to correctly understand China's religious policy.