On September 15, China’s State Administration for Religious Affairs published its new Code of Conduct for Religious Teachers and Personnel, which bans priests and preachers of all faiths from using the internet to carry out religious activities.
The Code prohibits online preaching, fundraising, distributing religious publications digitally, live-streaming liturgies, prayer meetings, and the religious instruction of children, among other things. It also states that religious personnel “must not collude with foreign forces” through the internet, a phrase that seems to be a veiled reference to the Holy See. Violations may lead to penalties imposed by multiple state authorities.
Under the new rules, religious teachers and ministers are now required to “practice the core values of socialism, adhere to the principle of religious independence in China, adhere to the direction of the Sinicization of religion in China, actively guide religion to adapt to socialist society, and maintain religious, social, and national harmony.”
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