China orders crackdown on large outdoor religious statues | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
Subscribe

Would you like to subscribe to our newsletter?

Current Conditions Mainly Sunny  14.6°C

Kamloops News

China orders crackdown on large outdoor religious statues

FILE - In this Jan. 1, 2012 file photo, a worshipper offers prayer in front of a Buddha statue for her first visit of the year in Huayan Temple in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. In a directive seen Saturday, May 26, 2018, China's ruling Communist Party has ordered local governments to better regulate the construction of large outdoor religious statues amid increasing restrictions on religious expression of all kinds.
Image Credit: Chinatopix via AP, File

BEIJING - China's ruling Communist Party has ordered local governments to better regulate the construction of large outdoor religious statues amid increasing restrictions on religious expression of all kinds.

The directive from the United Front Work Department viewed on its websites Saturday appears targeted mainly at followers of Buddhism and Taoism, two of China's five officially recognized religions.

It says regulating such statues and preventing further commercialization of religions must be a "top priority."

Thousands of Buddhist and Taoist temples and shrines, along with mosques and churches, were damaged or destroyed under communism, especially during the violent 1966-76 Cultural Revolution.

Although many have been restored and reopened since then, new regulations and a bureaucratic overhaul earlier this year have put the day-to-day running of religious affairs directly under the officially atheistic party.

News from © The Associated Press, 2018
The Associated Press

  • Popular kamloops News
View Site in: Desktop | Mobile