China's government is intensifying a crackdown on Catholic and Protestant churches by ordering the removal of crosses and images of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary, replacing them with photos of President Xi Jinping, according to a report by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). "Authorities target Catholic and Protestant Christians for sinicization," states the USCIRF report on anti-religious policies. The officially atheist Chinese Communist Party has launched a campaign of coercive "sinicization" of religion targeting all spiritual activities, emphasizing "patriotism" for believers—a euphemism for supporting Xi's brand of Marxism-Leninism. State-controlled religious organizations back the campaign, which has led to the censorship of religious texts and the display of Chinese Communist Party slogans at church entrances. Despite the coercive measures, tens of millions of Christians have rejected government-controlled churches and are worshipping independently.
