Chinese house churches are unregistered Christian churches in the People's Republic of China, which operate independently of the government-run Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM) and China Christian Council (CCC) for Protestant groups and the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association (CCPA) and the Chinese Catholic Bishops Council (CCBC) for Catholics. They are also known as the "Underground" Church or the "Unofficial" Church, although this is somewhat of a misnomer as they are collections of unrelated individual churches rather than a single unified church. A Christian is a follower of Jesus of Nazareth, referred to as the Christ. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... The Three-Self Patriotic Movement (officially 中国基督教三自爱国运动委员会, China Christian Three-Self Patriotic Movement Committee; colloquially 三自教会, the Three-Self Church) and the China Christian Council (中国基督教协会) are two pro-government (patriotic) Christian organizations in the Peoples Republic of China. ... The Three-Self Patriotic Movement (officially 中国基督教三自爱国运动委员会, China Christian Three-Self Patriotic Movement Committee; colloquially 三自教会, the Three-Self Church) and the China Christian Council (中国基督教协会) are two... The Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association (Chinese: 中国天主教爱国会, pinyin: Zhōngguó TiānzhÇ”jiào Àiguó Huì), abbreviated CPA, CPCA, or CCPA, is a division of Beijings Religious Affairs Bureau, and has oversight over Chinas Catholics. ...

They developed as a result of the PRC government policy which requires the registration of all religious organisations. This registration policy requires churches to become part of the TSPM/CCC set-up, which may involve interference in the church's internal affairs either by government officials or by TSPM/CCC officials, who are approved by the Communist Party of China's United Front Work Department. The name house church comes from the fact that, not being officially registered organizations, they cannot independently own property and hence they meet in people's houses. The Communist Party of China (CPC) (official name, though almost universally known in English as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)) (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: Zhōngguó Gòngchǎndǎng) is the ruling political party of the Peoples Republic of China, a position guaranteed by the countrys... In Leninist theory, a United front is a coalition of left-wing working class forces which put forward a common set of demands and share a common plan of action, but which do not subordinate themselves to the front, retaining their abilities for independent political action and continuing to hold...

Because house churches operate outside government regulations and restrictions, their members and leaders are sometimes harassed by local government officials. This persecution may take the form of a prison sentence or, more commonly, reeducation through labour. Heavy fines are also not uncommon, with personal effects being confiscated in lieu of payment if this is refused or unavailable. Unlike Falungong, however, house churches have not officially been outlawed, and since the 1990s, there has been increasing official tolerance of house churches. Most observers believe that the harassment of house churches by government officials arises less from an ideological opposition to religion and support of atheism than out of fears of a center of popular mobilization outside the control of the Communist Party of China. Look up Persecution in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Reeducation through labor (laodong jiaoyang 劳动教养, abbreviated láojiào 劳教) is a system of administrative detentions in the Peoples Republic of China which is generally used to detain persons for minor crimes such as petty theft, prostitution, and illegal drug use for periods up to four years. ... Falun emblem Falun Gong (Traditional Chinese: 法輪功; Simplified Chinese: 法轮功; pinyin: Fǎlún Gōng; literally Practice of the Wheel of Law) or Falun Dafa (Traditional Chinese: 法輪大法; Simplified Chinese: 法轮大法; pinyin: Fǎlún d... The 18th-century French author Baron dHolbach was one of the first self-described atheists; for he did not believe in the existence of any deities. ... The Communist Party of China (CPC) (official name, though almost universally known in English as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)) (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: Zhōngguó GòngchÇŽndÇŽng) is the ruling political party of the Peoples Republic of China, a position guaranteed by the countrys...

Protestant house churches are indigenous to mainland China and are usually not under foreign control; some groups welcome help from abroad as long as it does not compromise their independence. This assertion of native roots is important in the PRC political discourse, since Christian churches and missionaries have sometimes historically been seen as tools of imperialism. They have indigenous forms of worship and usually use their own songs. One collection of Chinese house church worship songs, Jiānán Shīxuăn (迦南诗选; "Songs from Canaan") has been made into a book, with a VCD and tape of some of the songs available. In addition, at least with the Protestant churches there is no central church hierarchy, a fact that is commonly cited as a reason why house churches are seen as less threatening and subject to less overt harassment by the Communist Party of China than Falungong. Imperialism is a policy of extending control or authority over foreign entities as a means of acquisition and/or maintenance of empires. ... For other uses, see Canaan (disambiguation). ... The Communist Party of China (CPC) (official name, though almost universally known in English as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)) (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: Zhōngguó GòngchÇŽndÇŽng) is the ruling political party of the Peoples Republic of China, a position guaranteed by the countrys...

Catholic house churches generally recognize the authority of the Pope in contrast to the official Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association which does not. The role of Catholic house churches is one of the major barriers to the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Holy See and the People's Republic of China. The current Pope is Benedict XVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger), who was elected at the age of 78 on 19 April 2005. ... The Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association (Chinese: 中国天主教爱国会, pinyin: Zhōngguó Tiānzhǔjiào Àiguó Huì), abbreviated CPA, CPCA, or CCPA, is a division of Beijings Religious Affairs Bureau, and has oversight over Chinas Catholics. ...

In the past two decades, a number of house church networks have developed, headquartered mainly in Henan and Zhejiang provinces. These networks have sent missionaries all over the country and have even started sending them abroad to neighbouring states. Henan (Chinese: 河南; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Ho-nan), is a province of the Peoples Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. ... Zhejiang (also spelled Chehkiang or Chekiang) is an eastern coastal province of the Peoples Republic of China. ... A missionary is a propagator of religion, often an evangelist or other representative of a religious community who works among those outside of that community. ...

See also

• Religion in China
• Persecution of Christians
• Christianity in China
• Back To Jerusalem

Jingan Temple in downtown Shanghai. ... First Christians in Kiev by Vasily Perov; Christians worshipping secretly in fear of persecution Many Christians have experienced persecution from both non-Christians and from other Christians during the history of Christianity. ... Christianity in China has developed since at least the 7th century AD. The introduction of Nestorianism, a Christian sect, around 635 is considered by some to be the first entry of the Christian religion into China. ... Back To Jerusalem is a vision of the Chinese house churches to evangelise all the Buddhist and Muslim countries of the world. ...

External links

• Statement of Faith for Chinese House Churches
• The Truth About the House Churches in China
• State of House Church in China
• Chinese Police Proudly Record Their Torture of Christians
• Tortured China House Church Member to Testify in D.C.
• Description of Video that Captures Destruction of a Church in China
• Standing Silent as the Blood of Chinese Christians Flows
• Surveys/analyses of religious freedom in China by Forum 18 News Service
• Persecution News Reports from China