China Tells its Citizens to Report Parents Who ‘Lure’ Kids into Religion
In a new set of education rules, the Chinese Communist Party is urging citizens to spy on their neighbors and report parents who raise their children in a religious faith or have them attend religious services.
In the northwestern region of Xinjiang, the government released the new education norms with special emphasis on religious formation, according to the U.S.-based human rights group China Aid.
The new rules, which will go into effect today, stipulate that parents cannot “organize, lure or force minors into attending religious activities,” or force them to wear religious dress or symbols. Moreover, they cannot “tolerate” that children attend “underground scripture studies.”
If parents are seen to be encouraging religion, “any group or person has the right to stop these kinds of behaviors and report them to the public security authorities.”
While China officially guarantees the right to religious freedom, the Communist Party tightly regulates religious activities, including religious education, and discourages minors from receiving religious formation.
Earlier this year, the ruling Communist Party issued an ultimatum to parents that if children do not stop attending church, they will be barred from attending college or entering the military.