Christians targeted with ban of online Bible sales

BEIJING— The Chinese government has banned online retailers from selling the Bible, moving in the wake of new rules to control the country’s burgeoning religious scene.

The measures to limit Bible sales took effect last week and by Thursday internet searches for the Bible came up empty on leading online Chinese retailers, such as JD.com, Taobao, and Amazon, although some retailers offered analyses of the Bible or illustrated storybooks.

The move aligns with a long-standing effort to limit the influence of Christian- ity in China. Among China’s major religions, which include Buddhism, Taoism, Islam and folk beliefs, Christianity is the only one whose major holy text cannot be sold through normal commercial channels. The Bible is printed in China but legally available only at church bookstores.

The advent of online retailers created a loophole that made the Bible easily available. This was especially important in China given the growing dominance of online shopping. Texts for other major religions are available online in China.

The closing of that loophole follows new government religious regulations that have effectively tightened rules on Christianity and Islam, while promoting Buddhism, Taoism and folk religion as part of President Xi Jinping’s efforts to boost traditional values.

The moves also come as China is engaged in negotiations with the Vatican to end the split between the underground and government-run Catholic Church. This would end a nearly 70-year split between the Chinese government and the global church, which Beijing traces to the Vatican’s historically strong antiCommunist stance.

Observers said the new measures could be a sign of a broader crackdown.

At a news conference outlining Bei- jing’s approach, a government spokesman said the Vatican would never be allowed control over the clergy in China.

“It sounds like the opposition force within the Chinese authorities who oppose the Vatican-China relations have their voice,” said Yang Fenggang, head of the centre on Religion and Chinese Society at Purdue University. “It clearly shows that they worry or are concerned about Catholics as well as Protestants.”

A report issued Tuesday shows the extent of the country’s religious revival. The previous report, in 1997, showed that China had 100 million followers of all of its officially sanctioned religions. The new report doubles the number.