Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Religious belief is reportedly becoming part of routine background checks in parts of China. Public hospitals in Chengdu have asked employees to disclose their faith, while education authorities are collecting information on the religious backgrounds of students and their families.
According to The Epoch Times, leaked internal documents and people familiar with the practices indicate that a public hospital in Chengdu required permanent staff, contracted workers and temporary employees to disclose whether they followed a religion.
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The hospital reportedly described the exercise as a comprehensive survey of employees’ religious beliefs, linked to requirements for the “regular investigation of ideological, ethnic, and religious work”. Staff were instructed to provide information without exception, with employees who did not follow any religion required to select “no religious belief”.
The reported scrutiny also extended to Communist Party members. According to the report, the hospital notice stated that CCP members are not permitted to practise any religion. Employees who identified themselves as religious were also instructed to report the matter to their Party branch.
RELIGIOUS BACKGROUNDS UNDER SCRUTINY
The reported measures are not limited to the healthcare sector. The Epoch Times cited an administrative employee at a university in Sichuan, identified as Chen, as saying educational institutions were investigating the religious beliefs of students and their family members. The employee said schools were collecting the information and passing it to higher authorities.
An employee working with Chengdu’s education authorities also told the publication that annual background checks are carried out on students’ families before children enter school. Religious affiliation is reportedly among the details collected during these checks.
The accounts point to a system in which religious identity can become part of routine administrative records, extending scrutiny from individuals to their families.
CHINA TIGHTENS ITS GRIP ON RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS
The reported practices fit into China’s wider approach to regulating religious activity through political and ideological oversight. The Chinese Communist Party has repeatedly called for stronger Party leadership over religious affairs. Under its policy of the “Sinicization of religion”, religious groups are expected to align their activities with Chinese political and cultural priorities.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has also called for tighter Party control over religious affairs.
As per The Epoch Times, Xi reiterated in 2025 that Party authorities at all levels should strengthen their leadership over religious work and incorporate it into the Party’s broader system of governance.
The reported checks at hospitals and schools therefore appear to reflect a wider effort to keep track of religious affiliation across public institutions.
– Ends
With inputs from agencies
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
