"Customs officials continued to monitor for the 'smuggling' of Bibles and other religious material into the country," the report said. "Religious texts published without authorization, including Bibles and Qurans, may be confiscated."
China. The state-owned Amity Press is the only publisher allowed to print Bibles in China that are not for export. The quantity printed is restricted, and the sale or distribution of Bibles is limited to officially sanctioned churches, with online sales having been recently cracked down upon.
But in 845, an imperial edict limited all foreign religion, including Christianity. The edict triggered a period of persecution, and, by the end of the Tang Dynasty in 907, Christianity had all but disappeared from China.
The Bible is reported to have been banned in North Korea and several incidents have emerged in which Christians were arrested or executed for possessing and/or selling the book, while other reports state that they have their own translated Bible.
The maker of a Bible app said it removed the app from the Apple store in China after learning that it needed special permission to distribute an app with "book or magazine content."
Currently, among China's major religions, which include Buddhism, Taoism, Islam and folk beliefs, Christianity is the only one whose major holy text cannot be sold through normal commercial channels. The Bible is printed in China but legally available only at church bookstores approved by Beijing.
The Bible used by most Chinese Protestants today, known as the Chinese Union Version (CUV), is the vernacular translation.
Over the past four decades, Christianity has grown faster in China than anywhere else in the world. Daryl Ireland, a Boston University School of Theology research assistant professor of mission, estimates that the Christian community there has grown from 1 million to 100 million.
Persecution in North Korea
Christians in North Korea must practice their faith in secret. They can't meet together to worship or tell others about Jesus. If they are caught with a Bible, singing a hymn, or praying, they can face up to 15 years in a labor camp.
North Korea, according to the report, has jailed as many as 70,000 Christians. The State Department's International Religious Freedom Report for 2022 has found that among the thousands that have been jailed are people of various faiths.
The Chinese government is wary of religion for several reasons. China is officially an atheist state and Communist Party members are banned from believing in or practicing any faith; there is concern that religion can function as an alternative to Communism and thus undermine loyalty to the government.
Buddhism, Taoism and Islam are quite popular, while there are also Christian believers (both Catholic and Protestant). Chinese citizens have freedom of religious belief.
Studies in the 21st century suggest that, in terms of percentage and worldwide spread, Islam is the fastest-growing major religion in the world.
Apple has censored a Quran app and a Bible app in China, the company confirmed to the BBC. Apple said Chinese officials had flagged the apps as breaking laws on illegal religious texts. Apple's human rights policy says the company is "required to comply with local laws."
Under Chinese law, a minor is forbidden to receive a religious education of any kind. The Falun Gong is subject to suppression in China, and virtually all religious texts, publications, and websites relating to the group have been banned, along with information on the imprisonment or torture of followers.
At the celebratory event, Amity Foundation secretary-general and APC chairman Qiu Zhonghui said that of the 200 million Bibles printed so far, over 85 million have been supplied to churches in China, with the rest exported to 147 countries and regions. APC produces an average of 70 Bibles per minute.
Among China's major religions — which include Buddhism, Taoism, Islam and folk beliefs — Christianity is the only one whose major holy text cannot be sold through normal commercial channels. The Bible is printed in China but legally available only at church bookstores.
There are no known official statistics of religions in North Korea. Officially, North Korea is an atheist state, although its constitution guarantees free exercise of religion, provided that religious practice does not introduce foreign forces, harm the state, or harm the existing social order.
While South Korea's constitution guarantees freedom of religion and separation of church and state, the government has been sympathetic to Christianity. It considers the religion to provide some ideological protection against their Communist neighbor.
The number of people affiliated with Christianity in Australia decreased from 12.2 million (52.1%) in 2016 to 11.1 million (43.9%) in 2021.
The government recognizes five official religions – Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Protestantism, and Catholicism.
Russian law technically recognizes Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Buddhism as the four “traditional” religions. But, only the Russian Orthodox Church is elevated to the role of representing the ideals and faith of Russia, passed down across untold generations .
The term used commonly in Protestant Chinese bibles for God is Shén (神). This term is much more generic, meaning god, God, spirit, or soul. This probably appeals to groups who are not committed to interpreting the term Shàngdì as a historical or spiritual equivalent to the "God Most High" of the Bible.
National surveys conducted in the early 21st century estimated that some 80% of the population of China, which is more than a billion people, practice some kind of Chinese folk religion; 13–16% are Buddhists; 10% are Taoist; 2.53% are Christians; and 0.83% are Muslims.
The first Protestant missionary to China, Robert Morrison, traveled there in 1807 on behalf of the London Missionary Society and translated the Bible [PDF] into Mandarin.