Sinicization of Religion: China’s Coercive Religious Policy

This factsheet, produced by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), details the Chinese government's coercive policy of Sinicization under Xi Jinping's leadership. The policy aims to align religious practices with Chinese Communist Party (CCP) ideology, affecting groups including Buddhists, Catholics, Protestants, Muslims, and Taoists. The report outlines the systematic ways the CCP has altered religious doctrines, leadership, and architecture to conform to state directives, particularly by integrating CCP propaganda into religious teachings. It highlights severe violations of religious freedoms and associated human rights, including the repression of ethnic minorities such as the Uyghurs and Tibetan Buddhists, and interference in Christian denominations. The report stresses the CCP’s intention to maintain control over religious groups to ensure the party's stability and rule, leading to widespread human rights abuses, such as mass arrests and cultural erasure. The Sinicization policy’s long-term goal is to transform religious institutions into extensions of the CCP’s political vision.