Background

China's government officially recognizes five religions: Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Islam (Forum 18 5 Dec. 2006; US 6 Mar. 2007, Sec. 2.c). All sites of worship in China are required to register with the State Administration for Religious Affairs (SARA), or the SARA's local or provincial level Religious Affairs Bureau (RAB) (ibid.; see also HRW 1 Mar. 2006).

Registration procedures generally call for religious groups to affiliate with one of seven "patriotic associations" (US May 2006, 108). For Catholicism, the state-recognized patriotic associations are the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association and the Chinese Bishops Conference (Forum 18 5 Dec. 2006; see also ACCORD 17 Mar. 2006, 20). For Protestantism, the state-recognized patriotic associations are the Three-Self Patriotic Movement and the Chinese Christian Council (Forum 18 5 Dec. 2006; ACCORD 17 Mar. 2006, 20). Buddhism, Taoism and Islam are represented by the Buddhist Association of China, the China Taoist Association, and the Chinese Patriotic Islam Association, respectively (ibid.; Forum 18 5 Dec. 2006). Government-controlled "patriotic" organizations are responsible for monitoring China's officially recognized religions (ACCORD 17 Mar. 2006, 20; US 6 Mar. 2007, Sec. 2.c; ibid. May 2006, 108).

Unregistered religious groups, such as Protestant house churches and underground Catholic churches, are considered illegal and may be subject to "closure, fines, and criminal sanctions" (HRW Jan. 2007, 6; see also America 7 Nov. 2005; China Aid 30 Jan. 2007). According to Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2006, in 2006, leaders of unregistered religious groups were at times "the target of harassment, interrogation, detention, and physical abuse" (US 6 Mar. 2007, Sec. 2.c; China Aid 30 Jan. 2007). There have also been reports of followers of unregistered religious groups being detained and "abused" (ibid.; see also US 6 Mar. 2007, Sec. 2.c). The treatment of unregistered religious groups reportedly varies by region (China Aid 30 Jan. 2007; US 6 Mar. 2007, Sec. 2.c; ACCORD 17 Mar. 2006, 20).

Differences between registered and unregistered churches

Some religious groups in China choose to remain unregistered because registration involves being monitored by the government (Forum 18 5 Dec. 2006; HRW Jan. 2007). Registered religious groups are required to provide the government with the names and contact information of their leaders and members (US May 2006, 108; ibid. 6 Mar. 2007, Sec. 2.c). The government also reportedly monitors the finances of registered religious groups (AP 2 Mar. 2006; HRW 1 Mar. 2006; ibid. Jan. 2007), as well as their religious publications, activities and programs (ibid. 1 Mar. 2006; see also US May 2006, 108). The annual report of the United States (US) Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) indicates that, since 2005, the Chinese authorities have required clergy of the registered Catholic Church to "report on their activities on a weekly basis" (US 20 Sept. 2006, 88).

There have been reports that patriotic organizations sometimes interfere in doctrinal decisions of registered religious groups (ibid. May 2006, 108; AP 2 Mar. 2006; Forum 18 25 Nov. 2004). According to a 25 November 2004 article by Forum 18, an online news service that "reports on threats and actions against ... religious freedom" (ibid. n.d.), leaders of registered Protestant churches are reportedly not allowed to preach about the second coming of Christ or the Day of Judgment (ibid. 25 Nov. 2004). The article also notes that, in recent years, the former head of the Protestant patriotic associations has been campaigning for "theological reconstruction," which opposes several Christian beliefs, including "justification by faith, ... the reliability and inerrancy of the Bible, and the necessity of having faith in Christ as the sole path to salvation" (ibid.; see also US 20 Sept. 2006, 93). According to the International Religious Freedom Report 2006, the Chinese authorities have also made demands on clergy of registered religious groups, such as to publicly support government policies and to denounce Falun Gong (ibid. 15 Sept. 2006, Sec. 2).

The Chinese government monitors religious education through state-approved religious institutions (AP 2 Mar. 2006; Forum 18 25 Nov. 2004; US 6 Mar. 2007, Sec. 2.c). Officially recognized organizations administer training to religious leaders, such as priests and ministers, who reportedly must demonstrate their "political reliability" and pass an exam testing their political as well as theological knowledge before they become clergy (ibid.; see also Forum 18 25 Nov. 2004).

The Chinese government is also believed to play a role in the leadership decisions of registered religious groups (US May 2006, 108; US 6 Mar. 2007, Sec. 2.c.; AP 2 Mar. 2006; Washington Post Foreign Service 5 May 2006). For example, there were reports in 2006 of the government-supported Catholic Patriotic Association installing several bishops in the registered Catholic Church without the Vatican's approval (ibid.; Reuters 1 June 2006; The Economist 3 Feb. 2007; US 6 Mar. 2007, Sec. 2.c). In recent years, the Chinese government is said to have allowed the "discrete" involvement of the Vatican in the selection of bishops for the registered Catholic Church (ibid. 20 Sept. 2006, 87; The Economist 3 Feb. 2007, 27); however, according to a January 2007 Human Rights Watch (HRW) report, "[t]he Catholic underground church community and the official Chinese Catholic Church continue to disagree over the ordination of bishops" (Jan. 2007; US 15 Sept. 2006, Sec. 2).

Several sources consulted by the Research Directorate indicate that the government of China does not allow the official Catholic Church to recognize the authority of the Vatican (ibid.; ibid. 20 Sept. 2006; Reuters 1 June 2006; Forum 18 5 Dec. 2006). While the unregistered Catholic Church in China maintains its allegiance to the Holy See (US May 2006, 111; America 7 Nov. 2005), the registered Catholic churches instead view the government as the "ultimate authority" (BBC 8 Apr. 2005; see also America 7 Nov. 2005; Forum 18 5 Dec. 2006). The Chinese government has reportedly restricted contact between the clergy of the registered Catholic Church and the Vatican (US 20 Sept. 2006, 88). Information on whether the Chinese Patriotic Churches (either Catholic or Protestant) pledge their loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party first, as opposed to God or Jesus, could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

According to the US International Religious Freedom Report 2006, in certain areas of China, the relationship between registered and unregistered churches is "tense" (US 15 Sept. 2006, Sec. 3). The report notes that, for example, divisions are thought to exist within and between the official Protestant church and unregistered house churches concerning issues related to doctrine (ibid.). However, in other parts of the country, the groups "coexist ... without problem" (ibid.). A 7 November 2005 article in America, a weekly Catholic magazine (America n.d.), notes a similar relationship between the registered and unregistered Catholic churches in China (ibid. 7 Nov. 2005). The article states that in certain areas of the country,

both the [registered] and unregistered church share the same building for services while in other places the two groups are at complete loggerheads. Still in other places a man may be a bishop in the underground church and a priest in the [registered] church. (ibid.)

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

America [New York]. 7 November 2005. Betty Ann Maheu. Vol. 193, No. 14. "The Catholic Church in China." (Factiva)

_____. N.d. "About America." http://www.americamagazine.org/aboutAmerica.cfm [Accessed 11 Apr.2007]

Associated Press (AP). 2 March 2006. "Bible School Raided by Chinese Police: Officers with Cattle Prods Arrest 36 at Underground Protestant Church." (Vancouver Sun/Factiva)

Austrian Centre for Country of Origin and Asylum Research and Documentation (ACCORD). 17 March 2006. China. 10th European Country of Origin Information Seminar. 1-2 December 2005, Budapest. (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Web site) http://www.unhcr.org/home/RSDCOI/4451d8c64.pdf [Accessed 10 Apr. 2007)

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). 8 April 2005. Kate McGeown. "China's Tense Links with the Vatican." http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4423845.stm [Accessed 3 Apr. 2007]

China Aid. 30 January 2007. "2006 Annual Persecution Report Released; Bob Fu Testifies Before US Commission on International Religious Freedom." http://www.chinaaid.org/english_site/press_release_detail.php?id=1438 [Accessed 10 Apr. 2007]

The Economist [London]. 3 February 2007. "Briefing - Religion in China: When Opium Can Be Benign," pp 25-27.

Forum 18. 5 December 2006. Magda Hornemann. "China: State-Imposed Religious Monopolies Deny China's Religious Reality." http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=883 [Accessed 10 Apr. 2007]

_____. 25 November 2004. Magda Hernemann. "China: 'Religious Distortion' and Religious Freedom." http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=462 [Accessed 21 Mar. 2007]

_____. N.d. "Forum 18 News Service's Mission Statement." http://www.forum18.org/F18NewsMission.php [Accessed 11 Apr. 2007]

Human Rights Watch (HRW). January 2007. "China." World Report 2007. http://hrw.org/wr2k7/pdfs/china.pdf [Accessed 10 Apr. 2007]

_____. 1 March 2006. "China - A Year After New Regulations, Religious Rights Still Restricted: Arrests, Closures, Crackdowns Continue." http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/03/01/china12740.htm [Accessed 21 Mar.2007]

Reuters. 1 June 2006. Philip Pullella. "Vatican Tells Beijing Not To Interfere in Church." (Factiva)

United States (US). 6 March 2007. Department of State. "China (Includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau." Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2006. http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2006/78771.htm [Accessed 10 Apr. 2007]

_____. 20 September 2006. Congressional-Executive Commission on China. Annual Report 2006. http://www.cecc.gov/pages/annualRpt/annualRpt06/CECCannRpt2006.pdf [Accessed 10 Apr. 2007]

_____. 15 September 2006. Department of State. "China (Includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau." International Religious Freedom Report 2006. http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/71338.htm [Accessed 10 Apr. 2007]

_____. May 2006. US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). Annual Report of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. http://www.uscirf.gov/countries/publications/currentreport/2006annualRpt.pdf#page=1 [Accessed 10 Apr. 2007]

Washington Post Foreign Service. 5 May 2006. Daniel Williams. "New Chinese Bishops Face Vatican Censure; Improved Relations Imperiled, Rome Says." (Factiva)

Additional Sources Consulted

Internet sites, including: Amnesty International (AI), Cardinal Kung Foundation, European Country of Origin Information Network (ecoi.net), Factiva, Freedom House, Hudson Institute - Center for Religious Freedom, Human Rights in China (HRIC), MonitorChina.org, United Kingdom Home Office.