by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) - Continuing its crackdown on house churches and censorship of Christian materials, China’s ruling Communist Party has now blocked a popular prayer and Bible and app from being available to mainland Chinese citizens, CBN News reports.
The CCP has now removed the Pray.com app which offers Bible-reading plans and Christian development programs and was available through the Apple App Store in mainland China, CBN reports.
The app’s removal was carried out under the CCP’s “Measures for the Administration of Internet Religious Information Services,” which went into effect in March 2022, CBN News reports. These measures require a government-issued permit to post religious content and ban the online streaming of religious events, and worship services.
In a website statement about China’s censorship of Christian digital content, the Open Doors international Christian advocacy group explains: “Restrictions passed in 2018 as part of a wide-ranging law on religion have made it harder for Christians to use the Internet or social media to pursue their faith.”
“The government's growing authoritarianism means that every Chinese citizen can be sure that none of their digital footprint is out of the state's view,” Open Doors said.
China ranks 19 on the US Open Doors World Watch List 2024 as the authoritarian, paranoid CCP considers Christianity an essentially Western threat to its power.