by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) - The leader of a major Christian watchdog organization has pushed back against a recent Pew Research Report that the number of Christians in China is in decline, the Christian Post reports. Citing a survey by the Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS), Pew reported an estimated 23.2 million Christians in China in 2010, compared to some 19.9 million in 2018.
It is well-known that China’s ruling Communist Party has systematically worked to suppress Christianity harshly. Indeed, China ranks 16th on the US Open Doors World Watch List 2023 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.
The Chinese Church has been essentially forced underground, so much so that it is difficult to determine how many believers there are in the gigantic country.
However, Global Christian Relief President and CEO David Curry said in a statement earlier this month that he disagrees with the findings presented by Pew.
"A recent Pew Research Report measuring religion in China suggests that Christianity in the country has stagnated and is perhaps even in decline," Global Christian Relief President and CEO David Curry wrote in a Nov. 19 op-ed for Fox News Digital about the Chinese Christian population.
"But to borrow from Mark Twain, such suggestions seem greatly exaggerated. In fact, many of us who are advocating for persecuted Christians globally believe the Christian community in China might even be growing," Curry continued. Pew's estimates "could be off by as much as 100 million, but no one truly knows the size" of the Chinese Christian population,” Curry added.
In an interview with the Christian Post, Curry said the Chinese government under President Xi has sought to “minimize faith in general, but Christianity specifically, in large part because there are so many Christians, and this is why the number of Christians is significant," Curry explained. According to Curry, there could be 100 million to 120 million Christians in China, many more than the 98 million members of the Chinese Communist Party, the Christian Post reports.