Published on November 27, 2023, 1:07 am

Image source: Fox News

Recent findings by Pew Research suggest that there has been a decrease in the number of Christians in China, supposedly due to an upswing in regulatory measures enforced by the Chinese Communist Party. These assertions, however, are vigorously contested by David Curry, President and CEO of Global Christian Relief (GCR), a highly trusted international Christian nonprofit organization.

In an opinion piece for Fox News Digital dated November 19th, Curry emphasised his skepticism towards the idea that Christianity might be receding within Chinese borders. Drawing reference from Twain’s sentiment about exaggeration, Curry suggests that contrary to stagnation or decline, those involved in advocacy support for persecuted Christians worldwide believe that China’s Christian community may actually be expanding.

As also being a commissioner on the U.S. Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), Curry indicates that internal research conducted by Global Christian Relief contends Pew’s projections could potentially underestimate the Chinese Christian population by as much as 100 million. The real figures remain elusive though.

The data presented by Pew Research was based predominantly on a survey actively engaged by the Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS). It inferred that 23.2 million adults recognized themselves as Christians in 2010 dropping to around 19.9 million in 2018.

Both Curry and Pew acknowledged these numbers could contain inaccuracies due to unreliable self-reporting levels of around one-in-five along with potential political influences influencing outcomes.

Curry believes that under President Xi Jinping’s regime, adherence to Christianity has faced escalating pressures including practices of dividing larger alignments into smaller congregations oand scrutinizing their activities leading many underground as worships come under attack.

Notwithstanding these difficulties and despite appearances otherwise fueled by manipulated data series, it seems reasonable that the number of Christians estimated between 100 and 120 million exceeds the recorded assembly of approximately 98 million CCP members. Recent feedback from direct negotiations with affected church leaders reveal calculated strategies designed to counteract the dissemination tactics, arguing for a healthy, vibrant and growing Christian community.

Curry, highlighting an area of concern that despite knowing China’s suppressing religious liberty, Western world leaders continue to accommodate President Xi Jinping. He alludes to potential reprisals ahead for western Christians through selective censorships or banking restrictions and financial systems controlling Christian ministries.

Regardless of future challenges, he expects that the American Church could flourish and become robust if it strategies adequately just like its Chinese counterpart thriving under strain.

In these testing times, real news about worldwide Christian communities may sometimes be obscured. Therefore it’s important to remain vigilant about trusted news sources and maintain a firm Christian worldview. The ground reality is often diverse from what gets reported considering political influences tend to shape narratives advantageous to ruling elites.