No-cult zone

ON AUGUST 21st five members of a banned religious sect known as the Church of the Almighty God went on trial for a murder that has gripped the country. One evening in May, in front of stunned customers at a McDonald’s in the eastern city of Zhaoyuan, in Shandong province, the suspects allegedly beat to death a woman who had refused to give them her phone number. The brutal attack was caught on smartphone video, which spread virally online.

The authorities have seized on the incident as an opportunity for venting against an old foe: “evil cults”. The Communist Party tolerates organised religion when its houses of worship are registered and its doctrines do not challenge the party’s authority. Its attitude toward unregistered congregations and foreign missionaries is much less tolerant, and has recently shown signs of hardening even further. Fenggang Yang of Purdue University says this reflects the rising influence of “militant atheists” in the party.