BEIJING (Realist English). President Xi Jinping has called for stronger legislation and tighter law enforcement governing religion, underscoring the Communist Party’s drive to “sinicise” faiths by aligning them more closely with Chinese political and cultural norms.
Xi made the remarks on Monday while presiding over a Politburo group study session, according to state news agency Xinhua. “Governing religious affairs in accordance with the law is the fundamental way to properly handle various contradictions and problems in the religious field,” Xi said, urging officials to “enhance relevant laws and policies, carry out in-depth legal publicity and education, and implement strict law enforcement.”
The president described the sinicisation of religions as “the only way” to achieve ethnic and social harmony and ensure long-term stability. He called on religious leaders to “take the initiative and reform themselves” by embedding Chinese characteristics in their doctrines, rituals, management systems and customs, while improving “self-education, self-management and self-discipline.”
Xi’s emphasis comes less than a month after the National People’s Congress began reviewing two legislative proposals: a draft Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress, and revisions to the Law on the Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language. Both measures are designed to reinforce ethnic integration and the use of standard Chinese nationwide.
China’s tightening control over religion has been evolving for years. In 2017, Beijing revised its Regulations on Religious Affairs to ban religious activity deemed harmful to national security, extremist, or foreign-funded. The rules also prohibited preaching in schools and curtailed foreign donations.
The Party’s leading journal Qiushi echoed Xi’s message this month, republishing a speech in which he argued that the economic interdependence of ethnic groups was “a powerful force” for building a unified national economy.
Xi has delivered similar calls during recent visits to Tibet and Xinjiang, where he became the first sitting Chinese president to attend regional anniversary celebrations. Analysts say the legal approach provides local administrators with tools to implement national policies. “The laws are the yardsticks to reduce arbitrary administrative decisions while providing administrators legal tools to advance national agendas on religious affairs,” said Xie Maosong, a senior researcher at Tsinghua University’s National Institute of Strategic Studies.
The campaign is rooted in the Party’s 2021 National Religious Works Conference, where Xi set out the framework of “comprehensive and strict governance over religious affairs.” The strategy includes guiding religions to adapt to socialist society, raising the self-management level of religious leaders, and embedding faith practices within China’s legal system.
