A recent Pew Research Report measuring religion in China suggests that Christianity in the country has stagnated and is perhaps even in decline due to a crackdown by the communist government.
In response, Global Christian Relief President and CEO David Curry wrote in a recent op-ed for Fox News Digital:
“But to borrow from Mark Twain, such suggestions seem greatly exaggerated. In fact, many of us who are advocating for persecuted Christians globally believe the Christian community in China might even be growing.”
Curry, who also serves as a commissioner on the U.S. Commission for International Religious Freedom went on to explain that internal research by Global Christian Relief suggests Pew’s estimates “could be off by as much as 100 million, but no one truly knows the size of the Chinese Christian population.”
The Pew study cited a survey by the Chinese General Social Survey, which claimed about 23.2 million adults in China self-identified as Christian in 2010, whereas 19.9 million identified as Christians in the 2018. Both Curry and Pew Research however noted such figures might be unreliable.
Curry said the Church in China is “definitely under attack,” and they have faced increased pressure since “President Xi has solidified his control.”