China most religiously restrictive government globally, Pew says

By Diana Chandler - Posted at Baptist Press:

Published March 13, 2024

WASHINGTON (BP) – China is the most religiously oppressive government globally, Pew Research Center said in its latest study of 193 countries, citing the banning of religious publications, broadcasting and worship among 20 categories of persecution.

China’s government restricted religion locally and/or nationally in 20 key categories, Pew found in its report. Overall, government religious restrictions peaked in 2021 as global hostilities decreased, Pew said.

The March report comes as the U.S. Congress votes on a bill to ban TikTok as a national security threat unless the China-based owner of the platform, ByteDance, divests of its control. Congress is concerned about U.S. users’ personal data being confiscated by the Communist government that widely uses public surveillance to monitor and police the public.

The U.S. House approved on March 13 the bill to ban TikTok, sending it to the Senate. While religious persecution and propaganda are not explicit topics of the bill, the legislation purports that China could weaponize its access to U.S. users’ personal data to create content that influences perspectives on various issues including the 2024 political elections.

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