Beijing’s ‘Chinese Buddhism’ campaign attempts to control faith, erase Tibetan identity: Report  

Beijing, Aug 8 (IANS) The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) remains wary of any allegiance that competes with loyalty to the Party, viewing religion’s ability to foster moral authority, community, and global connections as a challenge to the state’s control over truth. By redefining Tibetan Buddhism as “Chinese Buddhism,” Beijing attempts to dilute its distinct identity, while reshaping it as a domesticated faith aligned with national loyalty rather than with its own traditions, a report has stated.

“This is not about theology — it is about sovereignty. Beijing’s project is to ensure that no pulpit, monastery, or altar speaks with authority beyond the Party. The renaming of Tibetan Buddhism is a symptom of a deeper ambition: to make belief itself a state-controlled resource,” Khedroob Thondup, the nephew of the Dalai Lama, wrote in ‘The Tibet Express’.

According to Thondup, the CCP has long treated religion not as a “matter of conscience”, but as a potential challenge to state supremacy. The campaign to recast Tibetan Buddhism as “Chinese Buddhism”, he said, reflects a wider strategy to bring all religious traditions under the Party’s ideological control.

“The CCP insists that all religions must adapt to ‘Chinese characteristics,’ meaning they must align with Party doctrine and national identity. This is not cultural integration but political subordination,” he stated.

Thondup noted that all religious communities in China are required to function through state-controlled associations that oversee religious leaders, teachings, and practices. He stated that independent religious authority is not permitted, while monasteries, churches, and mosques remain under surveillance.

He also highlighted that clergy are subjected to political indoctrination, sermons are regulated, and unapproved religious gatherings outside state control are criminalised.

“Tibetan Buddhism represents more than a spiritual tradition; it embodies a cultural identity and historical memory that resists assimilation. By labelling it ‘Chinese Buddhism ‘, Beijing attempts to erase its distinct lineage and tether it to the state’s narrative of national unity. This linguistic shift is not benign — it is a calculated move to delegitimise Tibetan identity and sever ties with the Dalai Lama, who remains a powerful symbol of spiritual independence,” Thondup mentioned.

Highlighting the larger pattern of persecution of religious communities across China, he said, “Crosses removed from churches, pastors detained, and scripture rewritten to reflect Party values.”

Thondup further alleged that mosques had been demolished, Uyghur religious leaders silenced, Qur’anic study restricted, while local rituals were rebranded as ‘cultural heritage’ rather than treated as “living faith”, stripping them of spiritual legitimacy.

–IANS

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