China is a religiously diverse, officially secular country where the ruling Communist Party (CCP) oversees five recognized religions: Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism, and Protestantism. A significant portion of the population (over 50%) is religiously unaffiliated, with many practicing a mix of folk religions, Confucianism, and ancestral veneration.
Key religious groups in China include:
Chinese Folk Religion/Traditional Customs: Practiced by roughly 20-30% of the population, often incorporating local deities, ancestor veneration, and the Hungry Ghost Festival.
Buddhism: The largest organized religion with deep historical roots and thousands of temples, including Tibetan Buddhism.
Christianity: Comprising both Protestantism and Catholicism, with an estimated 5-7% of the population identifying as Christian.
Islam: Practiced by roughly 1.8% of the population, with over 30,000 mosques.
Taoism (Daoism): An indigenous religion/philosophy based on the teachings of Lao Zi, focusing on the "Way" and natural harmony.
Confucianism: Often viewed as a moral code or tradition rather than a religion, influencing social values for over 60% of the population. The government manages religious affairs through state-sanctioned organizations requiring loyalty to the CCP, often promoting the "sinicization" of religion.
Key religious groups in China include:
Chinese Folk Religion/Traditional Customs: Practiced by roughly 20-30% of the population, often incorporating local deities, ancestor veneration, and the Hungry Ghost Festival.
Buddhism: The largest organized religion with deep historical roots and thousands of temples, including Tibetan Buddhism.
Christianity: Comprising both Protestantism and Catholicism, with an estimated 5-7% of the population identifying as Christian.
Islam: Practiced by roughly 1.8% of the population, with over 30,000 mosques.
Taoism (Daoism): An indigenous religion/philosophy based on the teachings of Lao Zi, focusing on the "Way" and natural harmony.
Confucianism: Often viewed as a moral code or tradition rather than a religion, influencing social values for over 60% of the population. The government manages religious affairs through state-sanctioned organizations requiring loyalty to the CCP, often promoting the "sinicization" of religion.
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‘Is this real?’: wife of detained pastor describes anguish as China cracks down on unofficial churches The knocks came at 2am. Hiding out at a friend’s house in a Beijing suburb, Gao Yingjia and his wife, Geng Pengpeng, rushed downstairs to meet the group of plain-clothed men who said they were police officers. Their son, nearly six, was sleeping upstairs, and Gao and Geng wanted to minimise the ruckus. They knew their time was up. Two months later, Gao is in a detention centre in Guangxi province, southern China, charged with “illegal use of information networks”. His arrest was part of the biggest crackdown on Christians in China since 2018. It has prompted alarm from the US government and human rights groups, with some analysts describing it as the death knell for unofficial churches in China. “We both knew that as Christians in China, there were risks,” said Geng, who fled overseas for safety with her son. “But to be honest, you can never be fully prepared.” (The Guardian; 12.24.25)READMORE>>>>>> Christian pastor's daughter urges US lawmakers to help free her father in China The daughter of a detained Chinese Christian pastor is urging U.S. lawmakers to help free her father at a time when President Donald Trump has vowed to “save our Great Christian population” worldwide. Appearing before a congressional panel Thursday, Grace Jin Drexel said her father, Ezra Jin Mingri, was formally charged this week along with 17 other leaders of the prominent underground Zion Church. They were detained in October in one of China's largest crackdowns on a single church in decades. It is among the largest churches that are unregistered with the Chinese authorities, defying restrictions from the officially atheist Communist Party requiring believers to worship only in registered congregations. (Yahoo News 11/21/25) READMORE>>>> Christians from 45 Countries Call for Zion Church Pastor’s Release More than 500 church leaders and members in 45 countries with close ties to China signed an online prayer petition in solidarity with the arrested leaders of China’s Zion Church, including senior pastor Jin “Ezra” Mingri. The countries represented—including Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, and India—are part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China’s strategy to invest in infrastructure around the world, or BRICS, a bloc of emerging economies that includes China. This the first time Christians around the world have jointly spoken out for the persecuted church in China based on their countries’ relationships, said Bill Drexel, a Hudson Institute fellow and son-in-law of Jin. (Christianity Today 11/14/25) READMORE>>>> |
January 21, 2025: Evangelical Focus reported: Cuban Protestant pastor Lorenzo Rosales Fajardo was released from Mar Verde prison on 17 January as part of a mass amnesty following the US announcement that it would remove Cuba from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, reports the religious freedom advocacy group CSW in a statement. The information has also been confirmed by Diario de Cuba, which includes the pastor's name on the list of the first people released by the Cuban regime. Pastor Rosales Fajardo was violently arrested along with hundreds of others after participating in peaceful protests that took place across Cuba on 11 July 2021. February 28, 2022: Christian Headlines reported: A female pastor in China's Hubei province has been sentenced to eight years in prison on charges of "fraud for preaching the Gospel" after her house church refused to join the state-run church, which monitors and regulates Protestant churches. |
Pastors and staff from underground church are arrested in China
A Christian pastor and father of U.S. citizens along with dozens of church staff and members have been arrested in China amid a crackdown, his daughter and the church say. Ezra Jin, founder and pastor of Zion Church, a large "underground house church" with congregations across China, was arrested Friday while at his home Beihai in the country's Guangxi region, his daughter Grace Jin Drexel told NPR. "It's been extremely shocking and … very scary for our family," Jin Drexel said. "But we also have faith in the Lord and we know that he [Ezra Jin] is doing God's work." (NPR 10/12/25) READMORE>>>>
A Christian pastor and father of U.S. citizens along with dozens of church staff and members have been arrested in China amid a crackdown, his daughter and the church say. Ezra Jin, founder and pastor of Zion Church, a large "underground house church" with congregations across China, was arrested Friday while at his home Beihai in the country's Guangxi region, his daughter Grace Jin Drexel told NPR. "It's been extremely shocking and … very scary for our family," Jin Drexel said. "But we also have faith in the Lord and we know that he [Ezra Jin] is doing God's work." (NPR 10/12/25) READMORE>>>>