A human rights group active in China is reporting that religious believers in a populous Chinese province are now required to register on a government app in order to attend worship services.<\/p>\n
ChinaAid, a U.S.-based Christian charity, reported March 6 that the religious department of the provincial government of Henan is rolling out a system whereby all believers must make online reservations before they can attend services in churches, mosques, or Buddhist temples.<\/p>\n
The reservations are to be made through an app called \u201cSmart Religion\u201d developed by the Ethnic and Religious Affairs Commission of Henan Province. According to ChinaAid, applicants must fill in personal information, including their name, phone number, government ID number, permanent residence, occupation, and date of birth before they can make a reservation. Those who are allowed into a place of worship must also have their temperature taken \u2014 suggesting the app may be related in some way to COVID-19 restrictions \u2014 and show a reservation code.<\/p>\n
Henan, located in the east-central part of the country, has one of the largest Christian populations in China \u2014 as much as 6% \u2014 according to a 2012 government survey. The communist government of China is officially secular, and the same survey suggested that just 13% of the 98 million population of Henan belongs to an organized religion.<\/p>\n
Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThese management measures did not stem from the intention to protect the religious rights of religious people but rather are mediums to accomplish political purposes…"https:\/\/t.co\/NVlykUpYik<\/a><\/p>\n — National Catholic Register (@NCRegister) March 8, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \n