China is alarmed over the rapid rise of Christian "cults" in the countryside and will do more to win over people who flock to such groups, state media said today.
The "cults" are influential in rural areas, where the number of Christians is rising so rapidly that the official church does not have enough staff to accommodate them all, the China Daily reported.
"Reality has shown us that the future of Chinese Christianity will be harmed if we do not attach importance to the churches in rural areas and help followers improve," said Cao Shengjie, president of the China Christian Council
Christian "cults" -- Beijing's shorthand for some unofficial congregations -- were in focus at a national conference of representatives of China's official church, the paper reported.
Several participants at the meeting called for more church staff to be trained to fill in the gaps, according to the paper.
Cao said at the conference that the "cults" had made ingenious use of the Bible, "quoting it out of context and making up heresies."
"They control followers, barring them from rational reasoning," he said. "They have bad morals and have even violated the laws."
China permits official versions of four main religions, Buddhism, Taoism, Islam and Christianity, keeping them under strict state control.
But a series of underground Christian groups, particularly evangelical Protestant churches, have expanded rapidly and drawn in millions of worshippers.
A recent crackdown on Christian groups has caused deep concern overseas and in February prompted President George W Bush to say that his "prayer" was for freedom of belief to flourish in China.