China’s government is cracking down on Catholic and Protestant churches in the country by ordering the removal of images of Jesus and his replacement with photos of President Xi Jinping, according to a U.S. government report on anti-religious activities in China.

The officially atheist Chinese Communist Party has launched what the report calls a campaign of coercive “sinicization” of religion that is targeting all elements of spiritual activities in the country. Sinicization means making Chinese in character or form, according to Oxford Languages.

“Authorities target Catholic and Protestant Christians for sinicization,” states the report by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, or USCIRF.

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“The government has ordered the removal of crosses from churches, replaced images of Jesus Christ or the Virgin Mary with pictures of President Xi, required the display of CCP slogans at the entrances of churches, censored religious texts, imposed CCP-approved religious materials, and instructed clergy to preach CCP ideology,” said the report, made public last month.

The anti-religion campaign was launched by Mr. Xi and is backed by state-controlled religious organizations.

The report said, however, said that “tens of millions” of Christians have rejected the government-controlled churches and instead are worshipping independently.

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The coercive campaign has fundamentally altered the religious environment in China through a process described in the report as emphasizing “patriotism” for believers, a euphemism for supporting Mr. Xi’s brand of Marxism-Leninism. The report said the sinicization is “the complete subordination of religious groups to the CCP’s political agenda and Marxist vision for religion.”

Communist founder Karl Marx defined religion as the “opium of the people.” His tract “The Communist Manifesto” stated that communism and religion were incompatible. The Chinese Constitution, however, guarantees freedom of religious belief, at least on paper.

The USCIRF report said authorities are using new regulations and state-controlled religious organizations to incorporate communist ideology into every facet of religious life. The effort is not limited to Christians. It also targets Buddhists, Muslims and Taoists.

Ultranationalism is also being used to forcibly eradicate religious elements considered contradictory to the regime’s policies and political agendas.

The government also appointed party loyalists as leading religious figures, altered houses of worship with party-approved architecture, and infused religious doctrines with propaganda, the report said. Unofficial religious activities not sanctioned by the party have been outlawed as well.

“These government measures have routinely violated the internationally protected right to freedom of religion or belief,” the report said.

The federal government estimated in 2021 that 18% of China’s 1.4 billion population are Buddhist, 5% Christian and 2% Muslim. Other significant religious traditions include Taoism, Falun Gong and folk religious practices.