Locals fear that persecution against Chinese Christians it set to rise across the country
As fears surrounding the right to religious freedom in China rise, yet another church has been officially marked for demolition by government officials. Xiaying Holy Love church in Ningbo, a seaport city in Zhejiang province, has been ordered to close by a party representative after being deemed "disturbingly eye-catching".
Officially an atheist state, the right to freedom of religious belief is guaranteed under Article 36 of the Chinese Constitution but protections are limited to those who worship within state-sanctioned bodies.
Chinese Christians often suffer at the hands of government authorities, and the Asian superpower is ranked the 37th worst country in the world for Christian persecution by the World Watch List.
Despite this, reports suggest that between 3,000 and 10,000 people are converting to Christianity every single day in China, and while there were just one million believers in total when the Communist party came to power in 1949, there are now thought to be around 100 million.
It is perhaps unsurprising, therefore, that the government is said to be stepping up its defences against those who practice the religion, and around twelve churches in Zhejiang province are currently thought to be facing demolition, with several already having been reduced to rubble. Keep reading
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