Massimo Introvigne on Religion in China

“American anti-cultists involved in early deprogramming activities such as Rick Ross (despite his heavy criminal record) were invited to China to advise on how to deprogram Falun Gong practitioners.”

“What is the truth about the persecution of The Church of Almighty God (CAG) and other groups labeled “xie jiao” (heterodox movements, sometimes translated as “evil cults”) in China? Chinese embassies and their fellow travelers go to great lengths to claim that [the] persecution [against various groups whom the Chinese Communist Party calls "xie jiao"] is an invention of American propaganda or Western scholars…”

“China seems to have been very much similar to the West, both in the production of new religious movements and in attracting to them figures from the political left who were officially promoting the struggle against “superstition.” Reconstructions of “Chinese traditional culture” as “non-religious,” and of the rich Chinese religious pluralism as mere “folk religion” should be viewed as propaganda rather than history.”