Five communist nations are severely restricting the flow of funding into Christian churches and implementing stringent requirements for churches to operate within their borders to slow the growth of Christianity, according to International Christian Concern.

The group cites China, Cuba, Laos, North Korea, and Vietnam saying they all maintain strict control over churches and dictate how they may function, if at all.

Religious institutions are forced to register with their respective nations and are only granted the right to operate if they agree to stringent and, at times, un-Christian criteria. ,

In November, China hosted the executive committee of the World Council of Churches, invited by the China Christian Council and the National Committee of the Three Self Patriotic Movement of the Protestant Church in China, a group approved by Beijing.

ICN said, "The dictatorial authorities in these nations (China, Cuba, Laos, North Korea, and Vietnam) view anything other than total subservience to the state as a power struggle.

"This is especially true when it comes to Christianity. Believers are viewed as threats, and governments of these nations go to extreme measures to shut them down."

The Christian advocacy group noted that communism leans heavily on atheism and that Mao Zedong, a founder of modern-day China and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), was an atheist, and the CCP's official stance remains one of adherence to atheism.

"Although China's ruling class allows a few types of Christian churches to exist within the nation, the churches must register with the state and follow a system known as Sinicization.

"This system requires the inclusion of Chinese characteristics and communist doctrine in church sermons and services."

In addition, says ICN, additionally, registered Christian churches must make all their funds transparent to the government and allow them to be viewed and audited by Chinese authorities.

In 2022, China enacted legislation called Measures for the Financial Management of Venues for Religious Activities. The legislation allows Chinese officials to scrutinize the finances of church institutions.

According to Barnabas Aid, a Christian advocacy group, article 43 of the law states that "religious affairs departments, financial departments and relevant government departments may organize financial and asset inspections and audits of religious activity sites."

Additionally, individuals who lead church services are required to "love the motherland, support the leadership of the Communist Party of China, support the socialist system, abide by the constitution, laws, regulations and rules, [and] practice the core values of socialism."

          - NO OVERSEAS FUNDING IN CUBA

ICN says that in Cuba, church leaders or participants may receive imprisonment for accepting funds from overseas.

It cited the U.S. Department of State, saying that Cuban authorities can impose "sentences of up to 10 years' imprisonment on persons receiving funding from foreign organizations or for financing activities considered to be directed against the state or its constitutional order."

Additionally, churches must register with the government to operate; however, Cuban authorities rarely approve new church registrations.

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) reported in 2025 that Cuban officials "regularly and arbitrarily denied or failed to respond to registration applications from religious groups. The government then used a lack of registration as a pretext to target unregistered religious groups."

In Laos, according to ICN, the government requires religious institutions to register with the state as well, and legislation in the nation mandates that almost every facet of church life be reviewed by government authorities for approval.

According to the U.S. State Department, in 2023, Laotian law "states that nearly all aspects of religious practice, such as congregating, holding religious services, travel of religious officials, building houses of worship, modifying existing structures, and establishing new congregations in villages where none existed, require permission" from government officials.

"Additionally, Laotian authorities are granted the right to "stop any religious activity" they judge "to threaten national stability, peace, and social order."

The Laotian government also "controls the distribution of written materials for religious audiences." And they "must approve religious texts or other materials before they are imported."

In North Korea, churches that do exist in the nation are intensely monitored. And even then, they are, for all intents and purposes, not much more than vehicles of propaganda for the regime to have the appearance of religious freedom on the global stage.

A U.S. State Department report stated that "a small number of officially registered religious institutions, including churches, existed in the country, particularly in Pyongyang, although visitors reported that they operated under tight state control and functioned largely as showpieces for foreigners."

The report continued, stating that "the government encouraged all citizens to report anyone engaged in unauthorized religious activity or in possession of religious material."

Like the other communist nations, religious organizations in Vietnam must also register with the state to be legal and not experience arbitrary arrests of members.

Additionally, Vietnamese legislation allows officials to monitor the finances of churches.