Thursday, May 21, 2015

Chinese leader: Religions must be free of foreign influence


China's president warned in a key policy speech that religions must be independent from foreign influence, as the government asks domestic religious groups to pledge loyalty to the state.

Hours later, Pope Francis urged Catholics in China to be "united to the rock" of the church in Rome, although it was unclear whether his comments were linked to the speech earlier Wednesday by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

China is ruled by the officially atheist Communist Party, and Beijing attempts to control a variety of religions and their spread. Keep reading

Photo credit: Pixabay, public domain

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