China Codifies and Escalates Its Policy on the “Sinicization of Religion”

China Codifies and Escalates Its Policy on the "Sinicization of Religion"

Washington, DC - The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released the following report on China:

China's Codification and Escalation of the "Sinicization of Religion" - The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) under Xi Jinping's rule has systematically intensified its restrictions of freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) through a series of laws that it recently passed and promulgated, expanding its coercive "sinicization of religion" policy. This issue update highlights the systematic nature of China's worsening repression of ethnoreligious minorities such as Uyghur Muslims, Tibetan Buddhists, and others.

In its 2026 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the U.S. Department of State redesignate China as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for its systematic, ongoing, and egregious religious freedom violations.

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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan legislative branch agency established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze, and report on religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress, intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion and belief. To interview a commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected]