Authorities to tighten the screws on online religious content

BEIJING: Chinese authorities have drafted sweeping new regulations that would severely restrict religious content online, including images or even descriptions of religious activities from praying and chanting to burning incense.

The move comes as Beijing tightens the screws on religion, especially for followers of Islam and Christianity.

The new rules would only allow members of officially licensed organisations to post certain kinds of religious content, according to a draft document published online on Monday by the bureau of religious affairs.

Individuals would be forbidden from posting photos, videos and text related to religious activities, or sharing links related to preaching.

Organisations that break the rules could be shut down, the document said, but it did not detail penalties for individuals, beyond saying any violations would be handled “according to law”.

China’s officially atheist government is wary of organised movements outside its own control, including religious ones, and analysts say oversight of such groups has tightened under President Xi Jinping.

While Beijing officially recognises five religions, it imposes strict controls on how they may be practised – regulating everything from who can attend services to what can be said by religious leaders.

The regulations are intended to promote “social stability” and stop religious fraud, cults and appeals to “extremism”, the document said.

The propagation of religious information within China by any “overseas individuals and organisations” would also be banned.

As written, the regulations could make it illegal to publish information about virtually any kind of religious activity – even pictures from a wedding ceremony – according to Jeremy Daum, an expert on Chinese law.

“As they currently read, the measures cast the net far too wide,” he said.