FRANK DIKOTTER: Portraits of Mao and other leading Communists replaced pictures of the Sacred Heart, the Virgin Mary, and various saints. Attendance dwindled

On Woke churches, but in 1950s China. Sound familiar?

"Before liberation there were approximately 3 million Catholics and 1 million Protestants. Their faith was singled out for slow strangulation. Brutal persecution, at least in the first years of the new regime, was not… pic.twitter.com/rujI4Gj8cN

— James Lindsay, full varsity (@ConceptualJames) June 12, 2024

On Woke churches, but in 1950s China. Sound familiar? 

"Before liberation, there were approximately 3 million Catholics and 1 million Protestants. Their faith was singled out for slow strangulation. Brutal persecution, at least in the first years of the new regime, was not compatible with a policy of toleration. … Gradually the pressure increased. Cadres and activists questioned believers, at home, in church, at the marketplace or in the police station, day and night. They were cajoled, threatened, pressed, nagged, and prodded, sometimes for days on end. Like all other people in China, they were called upon to reform themselves and provide accusations against others. They had to join daily study sessions, examine their links with foreign imperialists, and renounce their faith at public meetings. Everywhere religious networks crumbled, as people left the church in droves. 

"Protestants were further isolated by the rise of a 'Patriotic Church' in 1951. It received funds from the state, preached according to the state, and followed every command from the state. Those who refused to join were put under house arrest and sent to labor camps. In parts of the country, Christians were forbidden to have rosaries, patron saint medals, or crucifixes. Homes were searched and prayer books, catechisms, and holy pictures were destroyed. Churches were stripped of sacred objects. Troops carried away altars and benches. Seminaries for training clergy were banned. 

"Reformed churches, on the other hand, fared better. In Beijing, St Michael's Church had red flags draping the main altar, communion rail, vestibule, and the path to the gate. Streamers hanging from the church columns proclaimed 'Long Live Mao Zedong' and 'Long Live Communism'. Portraits of Mao and other leading Communists replaced pictures of the Sacred Heart, the Virgin Mary, and various saints. Attendance dwindled . . . 

"Throughout the province, by contrast [to a kind of defiant revival], believers deserted the Patriotic churches. Some of them stood empty. It was the same story in Sichuan."

From Frank Dikötter's The Tragedy of Liberation: A History of the Chinese Revolution, 1945-1957.