In China, churches are being forced to hand over all of their titles and offerings to government officials.
The order is coming from communist officials in China’s coastal Zhejiang province. Christians in that region are already being persecuted.
Many of these same churches had their rooftop crosses forcefully removed and are now being forced to display the Communist flag where the crosses once stood.
China Aid, which has been reporting on the ever increasing persecution against churches in the past few years, said the government’s orders are part of a move to crackdown on Christians by imposing regulations.
The watchdog group says the Communist government has been forcing houses of worship to implement its “five transformations” plan, which consist of “localizing religion (through adopting local architectural styles for church buildings), standardizing management, indigenizing theology (by contextualizing sermons), financial transparency and adapting Christian teachings,” to reflect the desires of the ruling Communist Party.
One local Christian who wasn’t named said government officials are interfering with church affairs, managing the donations they receive and taking over large-scale projects.
He said “We have to obtain their permission if we would like to buy equipment or decorate the church. We will have to ask for permission for any expenses more than 300 dollars.”
That’s not all, government officials have been demanding to speak to congregations during church services, and for churches to set up tables for them.