In their effort to “exert total control” over religion and to “sinicise” Catholic and Protestant Christianity, the authorities have “ordered the removal of crosses from churches [and] replaced images of Jesus Christ or the Virgin Mary with pictures of President Xi Jinping,” the report said.
The report concluded that “every facet of religious life for Buddhists, Catholics and Protestant Christians, Muslims, and Taoists” was facing pressure to incorporate CCP ideology, and religious elements considered contradictory to the state’s political agenda were being eradicated.
What the actual fuck???
Same shit, different century. Ever look up the actual history of Christmas or Easter? They were pagan holidays and Christian rulers forced everyone to jam as much Christian stuff into them as they could.
It’s literally one of the oldest tricks in the book.
Are you surprised???
More flabbergasted, really.
Honestly, concerns over the possibility that religion might be a political opponent and trying to neutralize it by replacing figures with one’s own are not new.
It’s just a little unusual to have it happening in 2024 between gods and secular leaders.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_syncretism
It’s been a pretty common thing that dictators have done throughout recorded history.
It’s not about agreeing or disagreeing with the specifics of the church, it’s about eliminating divided loyalties.