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 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.
the spectre of communism immaculately impregnated mao, who gave birth to xi.
Hey, finally, a religion tankies are comfortable with!
Upon further consideration, it was decided that perhaps what Marx had meant was that certain varieties of opium were, in fact, good for the people.
What the actual fuck???
Honestly, concerns over the possibility that religion might be a political opponent and trying to neutralize it by replacing figures with one’s own are not new.
It’s just a little unusual to have it happening in 2024 between gods and secular leaders.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_syncretism
Religious syncretism is the blending of religious belief systems into a new system, or the incorporation of other beliefs into an existing religious tradition.
This can occur for many reasons, where religious traditions exist in proximity to each other, or when a culture is conquered and the conquerors bring their religious beliefs with them, but do not succeed in eradicating older beliefs and practices.
concerns over the possibility that religion might be a political opponent and trying to neutralize it by replacing figures with one’s own are not new.
It’s been a pretty common thing that dictators have done throughout recorded history.
It’s not about agreeing or disagreeing with the specifics of the church, it’s about eliminating divided loyalties.
Maohammed when?
As a Muslim this is one of the times I’m glad paintings of humans and animals are haram in Islam. We don’t got none of that shit in mosques (or anywhere else, really).
Many mosques in Xinjiang are reportedly damaged or destroyed though. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-67483202.amp
Also Islam rejects intercessors. We pray to Allah s.w.t. and only to him. We asked for forgiveness for our sins from him and him alone. The prophets and messangers a.s. were all humans of best character and faith, which is why they were honored but also challenged with their tasks.
This is why countries like China are particularly oppressive towards Islam. The faith is structured in a way that makes it more difficult to coopt it into exerting control over people for a government. Unfortunately we see (partly) successfull attempts at it like in Saudi Arabia. But they also control two of the holyest sites with Meqqa and Medina.
If i understand correctly China is oppressing Buddhism more strongly too because it is also not well controllable. But i have to admit that i know little about the details of buddhist spirituality/religion.
Most religions in China get the same treatment from the CCP.
Christian communities have had similar experiences.
In 2016, thousands of crosses were torn down from churches throughout Zhejiang Province. The authorities have also broken up congregations that have not been approved by the state, while church leaders have been arrested and jailed.
The demolition of domes, crosses and minarets and their replacement by Chinese-styled tiled roofs and Buddhist-styled pagodas. It involves mandatory patriotic education for Buddhist, Christian and Muslim clergy and it entails party-approved sermons and prayers.
South of Xinjiang in Tibet, the authorities have restricted the practice of Tibetan Buddhism over the last decade. Religious festivals have been banned more frequently and government employees, teachers and students have been barred from participating in religious activities.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/26/a-jealous-god-china-remakes-religions-in-its-own-image
That’s one of the dumber things I’ve heard today. Luckily it’s still early, plenty more dumb stuff to read.
Is this just militant atheism or are you trying to make some kind of point?
An outrageous claim from the Telegraph. I need a second source.
because China has always been oh so welcoming of other religions right? Sources are great but calling this an outrageous claim is a bit much given the historical context.
I mean, it’s a pretty big step from “we need to pre-approve priests” to “actually, your religion is about something completely different now”.
And, more importantly, it’s the Telegraph. If it was the Guardian I’d go “gee whiz, that’s a whole new level, very unexpected”.
replaced images of Jesus Christ or the Virgin Mary with pictures of President Xi Jinping.
Its not saying actually Xi is your god now, its just making churches one more place where you see the dear leader. Still bad but not at the insane level of trying to rewrite one of the world’s largest religions.
Why is the telegraph bad, I really like their journalists they have always come across well.
