More folk religion temples destroyed in China

Amid the turmoil of COVID-19 and the legal suppression of Hong Kong by the Chinese central government, a curious video emerged on YouTube two weeks ago showing the destruction of a folk religion statue in Handan, China.

The video appears to show a statue of the Yellow Emperor being toppled. The Yellow Emperor, Huangdi, is one of the legendary sovereigns of China and one of the nation’s great cultural heroes. He is said to have reigned about 5,000 years ago.

Bitter Winter reports that this is but one of more than one hundred other such temples destroyed in the Zhejiang, Henan, and Hebei provinces. (Hebei province is not to be confused with Hubei province, where the first major outbreaks of COVID-19 occurred.) “Officials used various pretexts to eliminate the places of worship and destroy religious statues,” reports Bitter Winter, “in the likes of ‘unapproved private constructions,’ ‘disorderly buildings’ that ‘affect the city’s image.'”

Previous reports suggest that the campaign of folk religion suppression is part of a strategy to eliminate religious devotion and the construction of an atheist state consistent with communism. As a local official told Bitter Winter in a previous report, “Currently, the state is cracking down on all religions, and investigations are going on in the village to find out just how many villagers believe in God.” Buddhist temples and Christian churches have also reportedly been destroyed by local law enforcement.

But the persecution is facilitated by other religious groups that comply with state actions as well. The Chinese Church Support Ministries, which serves the “Church in China” and supplies books and teaching materials to Chinese Christians, notes in Antioch Missions that “Economic and human needs encourage ‘god-making’ behaviour.” They request that the faithful “pray for all levels of the Chinese government to eradicate poverty in rural areas.”

The Temple no longer exists. Bitter Winter says that the Nainai Temple now “has become the Moxiang Book Studio—an entertainment center to play Chinese chess and other games or read books.” All economic activity from the former use is over.

Religious persecution in China has not been limited to folk religions, however. All religious communities, including those of major faiths like Christianity and Islam, have been threatened. The ruling government has issued instructions against “foreign religious infiltration,” although the Chinese government does offer state recognition – that is, state registration – of five faiths: Chinese Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism, and Protestantism. Folk religions are not included in state recognition, although some folk practices are related to Buddhism and Taoism – The Yellow Emperor, for example, is also worshiped by Taoists.

As Cathy Sun notes in Harvard Political Review notes “China’s persecution of religious minorities is part of a broader, systematic strategy to eradicate external influence in the social and political lives of citizens while harnessing aspects of religion that could serve the state’s interests. Its campaign of religious persecution is a not unprecedented effort to cement public recognition of the state’s authority and thereby generate political conformity.”

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues to refer to new religious movements as xié jiào (邪教), or “cults.” They are viewed as hostile to the CCP and its social objectives. The threat is serious enough that the Chinese Criminal Code’s infamous Article 300 punishes those involved in xié jiào – which can sometimes simply mean possession of religious literature from a xié jiào – with three to seven years of imprisonment.

Last week, a new announcement in the People’s Network offered cash rewards for information regarding xié jiào activities, with so-called “Level 1” information, leading to verified cult detection, receiving rewards as high as RMB 100,000 (~US$14,000).