42 ICSA TODAY
Then, on June 1, Pastor Wang Yi of the Early Rain Reformed
Church in Chengdu, China was arrested as he distributed leaflets
against forced abortion and was held briefly. Three days later, Mr.
Wang was detained again arresting officers released him after 12
hours of interrogation.
A few days later the government published its list of 20 active
“cults.” Since then, Chinese TV channels and newspapers
have issued warnings about the dangers of “evil cults,” which
community organizations, authorities, and schools have been
supporting.
The anticult campaign extends to more-mainstream religious
practices, including a barrage of attacks on China’s underground
Christian churches. As a perceived “foreign” religion, Christianity
and the growing numbers of Christians in China make the
Chinese leadership particularly nervous. A September 2012
policy document on the Religious Affairs Bureau’s website stated
that unlawful religious groups are “threatening China’s national
security.”
2010 government figures put the number of Christians in China
at 23 million. A Pew Research Center 2014 estimate is that
Christians account for around 5.1 percent, or 67 million of the
Chinese population, with 58 million Protestants and 9 million
Catholics.
“Legal” and “Illegal” Christians. China has two classes of
Christian churches: The legal group consists of state-approved
congregations. The illegal group includes “home churches” or
“underground churches,” independent congregations that operate
without state approval.
But even legal churches are fair game for the government in
this latest crackdown. Churches once treated as legal now
face persecution, and at least ten of them have had crosses
destroyed or have been completely demolished. After decades of
antireligion propaganda, many Chinese people remain ignorant
about religion and are easily manipulated into viewing foreign
faiths as evil sects.
A June 1 CCTV report outlined the “six characteristics of evil
cults,” which a legal “expert” said included the cult of personality,
immorality, and restrictions of individual and spiritual freedom.
As many Chinese people took to the Internet with renewed
antireligious fervor to thank the government for exposing the
true nature of “evil cults,” columnist Murong Xuecun commented
that “the name of the biggest cult is hidden in plain view: the
Communist Party.” (The New York Times, 6/11/14 6/17/14)
China Arrests “Nearly 1,000” Members of Illegal Cult
In a recent update according to the state news agency Xinhua,
Chinese authorities have arrested nearly a thousand members of
the religious group, Church of Almighty God or Quannengshen,
the latest in a series of official moves against a group that China
has outlawed as an illegal cult. China has sentenced dozens of
followers since the murder of a woman at a fast-food restaurant
by suspected members of the group in June sparked a national
outcry.
Among those currently arrested were 100 “high-level organizers
and backbone members,” Xinhua said, citing a statement from
the Ministry of Public Security. The murder trial is set to open on
Thursday, Xinhua said. (Reuters, 8/19/14)
Insufficient Evidence Ends Investigation of Devon
Community
In October 2013, officers started working with Devon County
(England) Council to “thoroughly review” information received
about the Twelve Tribes community, which runs the Common
Loaf Bakery at Dunkeswell in East Devon. At the time, police
confirmed they had received no allegations and there was no
formal investigation.
However, a team of council officers visited the commune on a
number of occasions and spent a day with the families and the
children alone.
The investigation followed concerns raised to officials at the
county council’s Children’s Services by the National Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC). The children’s charity
approached the council after a national newspaper reported the
Twelve Tribes community’s belief in the right to use the cane as
a form of punishment and following the removal of 40 children
from two of its communities in Germany after an undercover
reporter’s investigation.
Tony McCollum, manager of Honiton Market where the group has
a bread stall and leaflets about it are available, said in October
that the investigation came as a surprise to him, adding that “You
couldn’t ask for nicer people. They seem very family orientated—I
find it hard to believe they would mistreat their children.”
The information the Council officers gathered on their visits led
the Council and police officers to conclude there was insufficient
evidence to take matters any further at this time. A council
spokesperson added, “The council takes all allegations of abuse
extremely seriously. … If any further allegations are made to us,
we will look into them.” (Exeter Express and Echo, 5/29/14)
Tony Alamo Church Empire Dismantled
While Tony Alamo, whose Christian-ministry empire stretched
from California to Arkansas, was living in the small town of Fouke,
Arkansas, his crimes landed him behind bars. Alamo is now
79 years old and serving out his 175-year sentence in Tucson,
Arizona for a long list of offenses that include battery, false
imprisonment, and marrying his victims, including children as
young as 8 years old.
In 2008, the dismantling of Alamo’s million-dollar ministry began.
FBI agents raided his home and seized seven girls, later believed
to be Alamo’s child brides. A year later, he was sentenced to life
in prison. The women were awarded more than $1 billion by an
Arkansas judge. Alamo also owes $30 million to two men who
were beaten, starved, and denied education while being raised in
the ministry.
Several of Alamo’s properties have already been sold to help
satisfy the court judgment including his church building in Fouke.
Prosecutors say some of Alamo’s property sold for as much as a
Then, on June 1, Pastor Wang Yi of the Early Rain Reformed
Church in Chengdu, China was arrested as he distributed leaflets
against forced abortion and was held briefly. Three days later, Mr.
Wang was detained again arresting officers released him after 12
hours of interrogation.
A few days later the government published its list of 20 active
“cults.” Since then, Chinese TV channels and newspapers
have issued warnings about the dangers of “evil cults,” which
community organizations, authorities, and schools have been
supporting.
The anticult campaign extends to more-mainstream religious
practices, including a barrage of attacks on China’s underground
Christian churches. As a perceived “foreign” religion, Christianity
and the growing numbers of Christians in China make the
Chinese leadership particularly nervous. A September 2012
policy document on the Religious Affairs Bureau’s website stated
that unlawful religious groups are “threatening China’s national
security.”
2010 government figures put the number of Christians in China
at 23 million. A Pew Research Center 2014 estimate is that
Christians account for around 5.1 percent, or 67 million of the
Chinese population, with 58 million Protestants and 9 million
Catholics.
“Legal” and “Illegal” Christians. China has two classes of
Christian churches: The legal group consists of state-approved
congregations. The illegal group includes “home churches” or
“underground churches,” independent congregations that operate
without state approval.
But even legal churches are fair game for the government in
this latest crackdown. Churches once treated as legal now
face persecution, and at least ten of them have had crosses
destroyed or have been completely demolished. After decades of
antireligion propaganda, many Chinese people remain ignorant
about religion and are easily manipulated into viewing foreign
faiths as evil sects.
A June 1 CCTV report outlined the “six characteristics of evil
cults,” which a legal “expert” said included the cult of personality,
immorality, and restrictions of individual and spiritual freedom.
As many Chinese people took to the Internet with renewed
antireligious fervor to thank the government for exposing the
true nature of “evil cults,” columnist Murong Xuecun commented
that “the name of the biggest cult is hidden in plain view: the
Communist Party.” (The New York Times, 6/11/14 6/17/14)
China Arrests “Nearly 1,000” Members of Illegal Cult
In a recent update according to the state news agency Xinhua,
Chinese authorities have arrested nearly a thousand members of
the religious group, Church of Almighty God or Quannengshen,
the latest in a series of official moves against a group that China
has outlawed as an illegal cult. China has sentenced dozens of
followers since the murder of a woman at a fast-food restaurant
by suspected members of the group in June sparked a national
outcry.
Among those currently arrested were 100 “high-level organizers
and backbone members,” Xinhua said, citing a statement from
the Ministry of Public Security. The murder trial is set to open on
Thursday, Xinhua said. (Reuters, 8/19/14)
Insufficient Evidence Ends Investigation of Devon
Community
In October 2013, officers started working with Devon County
(England) Council to “thoroughly review” information received
about the Twelve Tribes community, which runs the Common
Loaf Bakery at Dunkeswell in East Devon. At the time, police
confirmed they had received no allegations and there was no
formal investigation.
However, a team of council officers visited the commune on a
number of occasions and spent a day with the families and the
children alone.
The investigation followed concerns raised to officials at the
county council’s Children’s Services by the National Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC). The children’s charity
approached the council after a national newspaper reported the
Twelve Tribes community’s belief in the right to use the cane as
a form of punishment and following the removal of 40 children
from two of its communities in Germany after an undercover
reporter’s investigation.
Tony McCollum, manager of Honiton Market where the group has
a bread stall and leaflets about it are available, said in October
that the investigation came as a surprise to him, adding that “You
couldn’t ask for nicer people. They seem very family orientated—I
find it hard to believe they would mistreat their children.”
The information the Council officers gathered on their visits led
the Council and police officers to conclude there was insufficient
evidence to take matters any further at this time. A council
spokesperson added, “The council takes all allegations of abuse
extremely seriously. … If any further allegations are made to us,
we will look into them.” (Exeter Express and Echo, 5/29/14)
Tony Alamo Church Empire Dismantled
While Tony Alamo, whose Christian-ministry empire stretched
from California to Arkansas, was living in the small town of Fouke,
Arkansas, his crimes landed him behind bars. Alamo is now
79 years old and serving out his 175-year sentence in Tucson,
Arizona for a long list of offenses that include battery, false
imprisonment, and marrying his victims, including children as
young as 8 years old.
In 2008, the dismantling of Alamo’s million-dollar ministry began.
FBI agents raided his home and seized seven girls, later believed
to be Alamo’s child brides. A year later, he was sentenced to life
in prison. The women were awarded more than $1 billion by an
Arkansas judge. Alamo also owes $30 million to two men who
were beaten, starved, and denied education while being raised in
the ministry.
Several of Alamo’s properties have already been sold to help
satisfy the court judgment including his church building in Fouke.
Prosecutors say some of Alamo’s property sold for as much as a
