China’s government launched a new campaign in April to eradicate underground house churches so that only state-sanctioned and heavily restricted Three-Self churches remain.
The new campaign, according to International Christian Concern (ICC), is called Return to Zero. The goal is to “dismantle the scale [of churches], dissolve the organization, and dismiss the church,” sources told ICC.
The ultimate goal is “eliminating Christianity” from the public sphere, ICC said.
Churches within China are required to register with the government and become part of the Three-Self movement. Pastors within the Three-Self movement submit their sermons to government officials for approval. In some Three-Self churches, children are prohibited by the government from attending.
Such restrictions have driven millions of Chinese to join illegal, unregistered house churches.
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Source: Christian Headlines
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