China: Government Forbids Teachers and Students From Even Believing in Religion

AsiaNewsA campaign to “guide, boycott and prevent” the spread of religious faith between students and teachers: this is what emerges from a video secretly filmed at Tengqiao, Lucheng District (Wenzhou). In it a representative of the education department announces an inspection to ensure that there are no religious leaders who are teachers, that they do not preach during lessons and that the students “do not believe in religions”.

The attempt to stop the spread of religions – and of Christianity in particular – in the world of school and university world has been ongoing for years. According to research from the University of Shanghai, at least 60% of students are interested in learning about Christianity and there is a continued growth of young catechumens in official and underground communities.

To curb the increase in conversions among young people, already in the past: students were expelled from schools because they were found praying in private in the university buildings. Furthermore, since the new regulations have been applied, the strict prohibition on minors under the age of 18 entering churches attending catechism lessons has been implemented.

Here is the text of what the government representative says in the video: Text of speaker on video is here.