CNA: Chinese Christians Told to Replace Christ With Mao or Lose Government Support

CNA Staff, Jul 21, 2020 / 03:00 pm MT (CNA.- Government authorities in Shanxi, China, are ordering people who receive government assistance to replace religious symbols in their homes, including pictures of Jesus, with pictures of Chairman Mao and President Xi Jinping. Refusal to comply results in the assistance being taken away. 

The religious freedom magazine Bitter Winter reported last week that officials in the city of Linfen, Shanxi province, were told in April to inspect and remove religious symbols from the homes of those receiving “social welfare payments” and to replace them with communist leaders. Those who complained would have their payments “annulled.”  …