Torah! Torah! Torah!

Today, Bibles are much more available in China than they were just a few years ago. Beijing likes to point out that Amity Publishing -the one state-sanctioned publishing house that is allowed to print Bibles in China- has printed over 50 million Bibles since it began printing 24 years ago in 1987.

Sounds impressive.

But that works out to just two million Bibles per year -this in a country with a population of 1.3 billion. Assuming none of those Bibles has worn out over the years, China now has one Bible for just every 26 people. Suppose for a moment that the goal was to have a Bible available for every man, woman, and child in China. At this rate, it will take Amity Publishing another 62 years to print enough Bibles for everyone.The bottom line, there is a huge demand for Chinese-language Bibles in China which outstrips the supply. So Beijing’s claims that they have the Bible-supply thing under control and that there is no need to import Bibles into China are a little disingenuous.

To further impede matters, Bibles are not allowed to be sold in standard book stores. They can only be sold in state-sanctioned religious bookstores. So not only is there a supply problem, there is a distribution problem.

The shortfall is most severe in rural areas. Outside of urban areas, Bibles are hard to come by and when available, they are prohibitively expensive.

In an attempt to overcoming these deficits, Christian bookstore owner Shi Weihan printed and distributed Bibles free of charge. Last June, Chinese courts found him guilty, fined him US$22,000, and sentenced him to three years in prison. All for simply having the audacity to work outside of sanctioned channels.

While religious repression in China may not be as draconian as the dark days of Mao Zedong when simply getting caught with a Bible in your possession was a serious matter. Religious freedom –in particular the right to produce and distribute Bibles- still has a long, long way to go.