China’s crackdown on Christians is an assertion of domestic religious policy and a message to the US

Chinese authorities detained Ezra Jin, the leader of the Zion Church, on October 10 alongside more than 30 church staff and pastors. The arrests come amid the largest crackdown on Christian churches in China in recent years, and have put renewed light on Beijing’s attempts to curb religious activities in China.

The Zion Church, a large unregistered church with congregations across China, has been on the authorities’ radar for many years. So the question is not why the crackdown is happening, but why it is happening now. China’s tense relations with the US have as much to do with this as domestic religious policy.

China’s relationship with Christianity is complex, and has been marked by periods of tolerance and persecution. The country officially recognises five religions: Buddhism, Daoism, Islam, Catholicism and Protestantism. Of these, only Buddhism and Daoism are regarded as indigenous religions and central to Han Chinese culture.

Together with Confucianism, they formed the so-called three teachings that provided the spiritual and ethical foundation of Chinese society throughout much of its imperial history (from 200BC to 1911).

Other religions flourished alongside these, including Islam and Christianity, both of which found their way into China centuries ago via trade routes. The earliest historical sources date the arrival of Nestorian Christians in China...

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