China will completely ban foreign missionary activities starting May 1, 2025, as part of the Communist Party’s aggressive campaign to bring all religious expression under state control.
At a Glance
- New regulations effective May 1, 2025 will prohibit all missionary activities in China without explicit government authorization
- Foreigners are banned from preaching, forming religious organizations, or recruiting Chinese citizens as religious followers
- All Christian activities must occur within state-sanctioned churches that promote Communist Party principles
- Independent house churches face increased raids, with members tracked through advanced surveillance technology
- China ranks 15th globally for severe Christian persecution despite having an estimated 80-100 million Christians
Communist Party Tightens Religious Controls
The Chinese Communist Party has announced sweeping new regulations that will effectively end all foreign missionary work in the country. According to multiple reports, the measures prohibit non-Chinese citizens from establishing religious organizations, preaching without authorization, founding religious schools, producing religious materials, accepting donations, or recruiting Chinese citizens as followers. The regulations, published by the National Religious Affairs Administration, consist of 38 articles specifically targeting foreigners’ ability to engage in religious activities within China’s borders.
Foreign religious clergy may only preach if formally invited by Chinese state-run religious organizations and approved by the United Front’s religious affairs administration. Even when such rare permission is granted, the content must adhere to strict guidelines and cannot challenge state ideology. The restrictions follow a government conference instructing state-approved religious groups to integrate Communist Party principles into their sermons, further subordinating faith to politics.
State-Sanctioned Religion Only
China officially recognizes only five religions, all operated through government institutions that promote loyalty to President Xi Jinping alongside or above traditional religious teachings. Christians must worship exclusively in state-sanctioned venues like the Three-Self Church for Protestants or the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, both of which operate under strict party oversight. Independent congregations, especially house churches, face increasing persecution as the government classifies them as potential threats to national security.
“China’s public security authorities intensified efforts to dismantle cult organizations in 2024,” reported the state-run Global Times. “They have worked to curb the growth and spread of cult organizations, mitigating potential threats to national political security and maintaining social stability.”
The government’s rhetoric reveals its approach—labeling independent religious groups as “cults” regardless of their actual beliefs or practices. This classification justifies raids, arrests, and other enforcement actions against unregistered religious gatherings. China’s Ministry of Public Security has reportedly increased spending on technology and manpower specifically to combat independent religious organizations.
Advanced Surveillance Targets Christians
The Communist Party employs sophisticated surveillance technology to identify and monitor those participating in unsanctioned religious activities. This system tracks citizens’ movements, social associations, and other behaviors to assess loyalty to the party. Individuals involved with unregistered house churches often receive negative social credit scores, restricting their access to education, employment, travel, and financial services. This creates powerful incentives for conformity with state-endorsed religious practices.
“The regulations state that collective religious activities organized by foreigners in China are restricted to foreign participants only,” according to Chinese government documents, with only narrowly defined exceptions requiring extensive approvals.
Despite decades of persecution, Christianity has experienced remarkable growth in China. Current estimates suggest 80 to 100 million Christians live in the country, compared to just 4 million in 1949 when the Communist Party took power. This growth, occurring despite increasing restrictions, may partially explain the government’s determination to implement even stricter controls.
Historical Context of Religious Repression
The Communist Party has maintained hostility toward organized religion throughout its history, viewing independent religious activity as inherently threatening to its authority. Current policies represent an intensification of longstanding efforts to prevent religious organizations from becoming alternative power centers within Chinese society. The party consistently portrays its actions as protecting legitimate religious practice while targeting extremism, though in practice it defines extremism as any religious activity outside direct state control.
“[The Chinese government is] intent on rooting out every pocket of independent religious thought,” notes one analysis of the situation.
With these new regulations taking effect in May, foreign religious workers face unprecedented restrictions on their activities in China. For the millions of Chinese Christians worshipping in unregistered churches, the regulations signal further government determination to bring all religious expression under state control, regardless of constitutional guarantees of religious freedom.
