Underground Christians In China Find Faith

(CBS)  Kids are singing about Baby Jesus sleeping in the hay. They look like children performing for their congregation, but to the Chinese authorities, they are criminals because they're at an underground "house" church.

It's called that because they meet without state approval, CBS News correspondent Barry Petersen reports.

The church let CBS News in to take pictures that show both faith and defiance, while the congregation was brave enough to share their stories of what happens when the government finds the faithful.

"The police called us evil and arrested us for illegal assembly," one woman explains.

Chinese-born American Dr. Sam Chao works in China for religious freedom and researched the dangers faced by underground church worshipers.

"I interviewed about 40, 50 people; every one of them (was) beaten and jailed and harassed and beaten on the body," says Chao, Director of China Ministries International.

When Mao Tse-tung took power, he banned religion. Communism was the new faith. These days, the state allows churches, but worshippers must register with police. And yet, there are many young people worshipping.

"They've grown up in a society where the moral imperative is to make money and get ahead, and that doesn't take you very far," says Ken Lieberthal, a China expert at the University of Michigan.

People in Beijing are discovering perhaps a simple truth: Money alone is not bringing happiness. Hundreds of millions — and more each day — are seeking something more.

So even traditional eastern religions like Buddhism are flourishing again. But none like the underground Christians.

In one village, they were even building their own church … until the authorities knocked it down.

In China, it was once easy to know what to believe in — the Communist Party. Those days may be gone for good as a new generation learns how to find and keep its own faith.

[cpd1010]

All of you on this forum are missing the point. The issue is not about what religion is right - Christians, Mormons,Atheists, etc. which everyone LOVES to argue about. The issue is freedom of religion. ALL of you have the right to exercise what you believe and have done so on this forum. Imagine if that were not the case! The Chinese are being arrested and beaten for their beliefs. If they typed the things you did on this forum - they would be put in jail. We as Americans take our freedoms for granted. Our gov't has no trouble with us buying cheap goods from slave labor from this country and ignoring the abomination of lack of human rights from China. But they have no problem 'conquering' oil rich Iraq. We as Americans need more compassion and support for human rights around the globe and quit complaining about whose religion is better.

[mgpm-2009]

I wholeheartely agree with the last two posts.

But the faithful here are no different than the hordes of the faithful that crucified Jesus, really. Listening to their leaders, believing they were crushing an upstart, rabble rouser, revolutionary, troublemaker.

[tucson23]

Christians in the U.S. have been used as pawns, seduced by Republicans with shiny baubles of gay marriage, abortion, and church-state separation into supporting a party which is decidedly against the core teachings of Jesus Christ.

If Jesus were to appear today in America, he would be called a dangerous liberal. He would not support preemptive war over patient diplomacy. He wouldn't support cutting programs for the poor to give tax breaks to the rich. He wouldn't look the other way while people are tortured and imprisoned without charges. He wouldn't be happy about the lack of compassion for immigrants and the hatred of homosexuals, Arabs, athiests, or anyone else. He wouldn't support favoring polluters whether they're causing global warming or not.

If you read the Bible, and all you come away with is that non-Christians are evil and Jesus was all about gay marriage and abortion, you are a complete fool to say the least. But then again, if the religious weren't fools, Karl Rove wouldn't be able to trick them into supporting an agenda which violates all the important principles of their faith. Wake up for God's sake.

[zootallures2]

But our great Christian nation has no problem selling out all our jobs to this country were Christianity is illegal?

Where's the evangelicals on this one? Boycott everthing made in China....LMAO!

OMG! Pat Robertson wouldn't even have a microphone....ha ha ha ha

[mgpm-2009]

God bless the people of China, and God bless these underground churches where people pay so dearly for their faith. China is so oppressive, forcing abortions, jailing people for having dissident beliefs, forcing people in jail to make goods to sell here cheaply in our walmarts--all the while not accepting trade in the the other direction from us.

No wonder Christianity is spreading underground like wildfire...it's revolutionary at it's heart.

[jdeltoro1]

nobody does it better than Christians? Try the JW's or LDS. I would say they win hands down. But regardless of what you think, there are others interested in being able to choose religions.

[oleander8]

If I was a person from another culture and foreigners came traipsing through my neighborhood telling me to give up my beliefs and accept theirs - I'd be pissed. And nobody does it better than Christians. Can you imagine the outcry you would hear from Christians if some foreigners told them the same thing. Organized religion, bah-humbug!

[djermano1]

I do the same here in China as an unauthorized missionary by the Church of Jesus Christ of LatterDay Saints. I do not agree with President Hinckley that we can not be missionaries in China. That indeed is up to the Lord to decide. I have been at it now 6 years, a wide claim of missionary work and service than any can claim from their missionary program of only serving 2 years from SaltLake City Utah.

Sorry President Hinckley, but I think missionary work is a long term mission, and if people are truly close to the Lord they know that is forever.