China enforces new law to tighten state control over Tibetan Buddhism

The report highlighted that to "'create a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation,' Tibetan Buddhists are subtly under pressure to integrate their culture into Chinese framework

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The State Administration for Religious Affairs, China's primary body overseeing recognised religions, introduced an updated version of the Measures for the Administration of Tibetan Buddhist Temples on December 1, 2024.

According to a report by the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD), the new law--adopted in September 2024 and enacted on January 1, 2025--"greatly increased state control over Tibetan religious practice by integrating political directives into Tibetan religious administration."

To further entwine religious practice with state ideology, the amendment "adds explicit political conditions. By making these demands legally binding, the CCP strengthens its hold over monasteries and clergy," the TCHRD report stated.

The report highlighted that to "'create a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation,' Tibetan Buddhists are subtly under pressure to integrate their unique culture and identity into the prevailing Han Chinese framework." This policy aligns with China's broader efforts to assimilate Tibetan culture and "fits in with the CCP's overarching objective of sinicising religion."

The updated Measures for the Administration of Tibetan Buddhist Temples enforce "political loyalty criteria in religious administration, therefore methodically enforcing the Chinese Communist Party's ideological grip over Tibetan Buddhism."

TCHRD outlined how these measures undermine China's legal protections, specifically Article 36 of the Constitution, which "expressly grants citizens the right to freedom of religious belief," and Article 11 of the Regional National Autonomy Law. These actions, it stated, "are a part of the larger state efforts to integrate Tibetan spiritual and cultural identity into the dominant Han identity."

"The Chinese government has significantly escalated its suppression of religious freedom in Tibet in the last decade," said Dawa Tashi, a researcher at TCHRD. "Through coercive 'patriotic education' campaigns designed to instil loyalty, strict control over monastic institutions, and widespread arbitrary arrests and detentions, authorities have tightened their grip. Today, religion in Tibet is not just regulated--it is ruled with an iron fist.