Religious News From Around the Web August 23, 2021

In China, ‘Xi Jinping Thought’ Is the Only Accepted Religion; Churches “Essential” In One State at Least; Sharia Law Coming to Afghanistan; Update on Sikhs and Hindus in Afghanistan

In China, ‘Xi Jinping Thought’ Is the Only Accepted Religion

Some of the main tactics the government employed to control and suppress Christianity in China include forcing independent churches to join religious organizations supervised by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), suppressing the transmission of religious knowledge to the next generation, isolating Chinese Christians from the broader global community of practitioners, detaining Christians that criticize the government, and banning the sale of the Bible.

Churches ‘Essential’ In One State at Least

A bill signed into law last week by New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu puts churches and other places of worship into the category of “essential businesses” during a state of emergency. “This bill,” says the analysis, “provides that any prohibition on in-person gatherings during a declared state of emergency shall not apply to houses of worship.”

Sharia Law Coming to Afghanistan
In a Tuesday news conference, Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, said that the group is “committed to the rights of women under the system of sharia (Islamic) law,” but he noted that women would study and work “within our frameworks.” But the Taliban’s regime prior to the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 was especially violent toward women. Women seen in public without a male relative could be abducted and forced into marriage, and women who were sexually assaulted could be executed.

Update on Sikhs and Hindus in Afghanistan

The safety of Afghanistan’s Sikhs and Hindus was dire well before the collapse of the government. The community, which once numbered in the tens of thousands, has been devastated by years of emigration and death, driven by both systemic discrimination and a uptick in extremist violence exemplified by a brutal attack on a Kabul gurdwara in March of last year. ISIS-affiliated fighters threatened the remaining Sikhs and Hindus in Afghanistan with genocide if they did not leave, and the World Sikh Organization is trying to get Sikhs and Hindus out of the country.