Faith, hope, and power

Corporatism, ideology, and religious freedom in China from Mao to Xi

Abstract

Xi Jinping’s renewal of authoritarianism in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) highlights the way in which patterns of repression change over time. Xi’s effort to reinvigorate party rule hearkens back to earlier periods of repression but has not reached levels common during the early years of the PRC. This pattern holds for the regulation of religion in the PRC. This article considers the PRC’s manage- ment of religion, in particular Christianity, over the past seven decades. Whilst authoritarianism has taken diverse characteristics, one permanent feature of government repression in the PRC is the pursuit of state corporatist management of religion.