China Power | Society | East Asia

In China, Christianity Is Treated as a Cult

The CCP has decided some fundamental tenets of Christianity mark out the world’s largest faith as a cult, and one that needs vigorous suppression.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has decided some fundamental tenets of Christianity mark the world’s largest faith as a cult, and one that needs vigorous suppression. That includes sentencing a 77-year-old man to jail, in part, for helping young Christians find spouses and believing that faith in Jesus gets people into heaven. According to the CCP, these were the “heretical” activities of a “cult.”

Pastor Yang Zhijin was sentenced to three years in prison, along with 30 of his congregants, for “using a cult organization to undermine the implementation of the law.” The CCP was referring to Yang’s house church, a congregation not part of the state-sanctioned Chinese church, in Henan Province, which prosecutors allege was part of the banned Full Range Church network. 

Whether or not that’s the case – under threat of prison, Yang denied it – Full Range itself would hardly be considered a cult outside China. Founded in 1984 by Pastor Peter Xu, it fits squarely in the “born again” Christian movement. 

And yet, the CCP has listed Full Range as a cult since 1995. At the time, the label was less a precise legal definition than a CCP designation for religious movements the state deemed politically dangerous, socially disruptive, or doctrinally “heterodox.”

Full Range’s designation was somewhat of an outlier. House church networks don’t usually receive this label, especially not those that follow mainstream branches of Christianity. Full Range, at that time, was one of China’s largest house church networks, with approximately tens of thousands of geographically dispersed congregants across hundreds of different individual groups. The church’s size may have drawn the ire of Communist authorities; however it certainly wasn’t because their beliefs or practices deviated from fundamental Christian principles.

While China’s legal system is largely opaque, Christian advocacy group ChinaAid obtained the transcript of Yang’s court decision. 

The People’s Court of Zengdu revealed in its verdict the extent to which xie jiao (cult) law is now being used against even basic Christian beliefs. The prosecution claimed that Full Range “spreads and promotes heretical teachings,” which include: “believing in Jesus leads to heaven, not believing leads to hell,” “everyone is sinful and must confess and repent,” “believing in Jesus can cure diseases,” and “crying for rebirth.” The court found Yang guilty, saying his “conduct constitutes the crime of organizing and using a cult organization to undermine the implementation of the law.”

The court also determined Full Range “interfere[d] with freedom of marriage” – a serious charge in a country where birth rates hit a new low in 2026 and a declining........

© The Diplomat