The communist government that holds a stringent grip in China is a secular state that regulates religion within the region. The government has created a department of its own to oversee all religious activity within the country, that department is called the State Administration of Religious Affair which regulates and oversees China's five sanctioned religious institutions. Those religions are Catholicism, Islam, Daoism, Buddhism and Protestantism. These religious institutes have to act in accordance to the government. China has avowed that they are in support of free religious practices; though the government still maintains a firm authority on how their populous must exercise their religious beliefs. The Chinese government is notorious for shutting down house churches; their continuous abuse of Tibetan Buddhists, and arrests and prosecution of citizens that exercise their religiosity against the regulations of the state has proved to the world and their citizens that their definition of "freedom of religion" is completely different than what is expected, but their view on religious freedom is evolving, ushering a new age in Chinese religious history.
Religion has always been a hot button issue the for communist regime in China, Mau and his communist confederates have always seen religion as a poison in society, disregarding the many centuries of Chinese traditions and culture, the cultural revolution tried to destroy the rich tradition of the Chinese imperial history.
In the Chinese constitution, it clearly states that citizens "enjoy freedom of religious beliefs", it prohibits the state officials to discriminate based on faith. The only exception is that citizens must be involved in one of states sponsored religion, which completely defeats the purpose of freedom of religious beliefs. The government's attempts to quiet down non-sanctioned religious practice have failed as the number of house churches has skyrocketed.
