Changes

{{Cquote|As for China’s Christians, their numbers continue to grow. The government reckons that about 200m of China’s 1.4bn people are religious. Although most practice traditional Chinese religions such as Taoism, and longer-standing foreign imports such as Buddhism, Protestant Christianity is probably the fastest-growing faith, with at least 38m adherents today (about 3% of the population), up from 22m a decade ago, according to the government’s count. The true number is probably much higher: perhaps as many as 22m more Chinese Protestants worship in unregistered “underground” churches, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Notre Dame. As China also has 10m-12m Catholics, there are more Christians in China today than in France (38m) or Germany (43m). Combined, Christians and the country’s estimated 23m Muslims may now outnumber the membership of the Communist Party (92m). Indeed, an unknown number of party members go to church as well as local committee meetings."<ref>[https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2020/09/15/protestant-christianity-is-booming-in-china ''Protestant Christianity is booming in China''], ''The Economist'', Sep 15th 2020</ref>}}

{{Cquote|As for China’s Christians, their numbers continue to grow. The government reckons that about 200m of China’s 1.4bn people are religious. Although most practice traditional Chinese religions such as Taoism, and longer-standing foreign imports such as Buddhism, Protestant Christianity is probably the fastest-growing faith, with at least 38m adherents today (about 3% of the population), up from 22m a decade ago, according to the government’s count. The true number is probably much higher: perhaps as many as 22m more Chinese Protestants worship in unregistered “underground” churches, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Notre Dame. As China also has 10m-12m Catholics, there are more Christians in China today than in France (38m) or Germany (43m). Combined, Christians and the country’s estimated 23m Muslims may now outnumber the membership of the Communist Party (92m). Indeed, an unknown number of party members go to church as well as local committee meetings."<ref>[https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2020/09/15/protestant-christianity-is-booming-in-china ''Protestant Christianity is booming in China''], ''The Economist'', Sep 15th 2020</ref>}}

[[File:Taliban enter Kabul airport.jpg|right|300px|thumb|[[Taliban]] enter Kabul airport after U.S. departure, August 31, 2021.<ref>https://www.defenseone.com/policy/2021/08/future-us-taliban-relations/184976/</ref>]]

=== Future of atheism in China ===

[[File:KabulHasFallen.png|right|350px|thumb|Desecularization in [[Afghanistan]].]]

In 2015, ''[[The New York Times]]'' reported that U.S. soldiers were instructed by their commanders to ignore child sexual abuse being carried out by the Afghan National Security Forces.  American soldiers were instructed not to intervene—in some cases, not even when their Afghan allies have abused boys on military bases, according to interviews and court records. But the U.S. soldiers were troubled that instead of weeding out [[pedophile]]s, the U.S. military was arming them against the Taliban and placing them as the police commanders of villages—and doing little when they began abusing children.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/22/opinion/ignoring-sexual-abuse-in-afghanistan.html|title=Ignoring Sexual Abuse in Afghanistan|author=The Editorial Board|date=2015-09-21|work=The New York Times|access-date=|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

See: [[Future of atheism in China]]

According to a report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, the [[DOD]] had received 5,753 vetting requests of Afghan security forces, some of which related to sexual abuse. The DOD was investigating 75 reports of gross [[human rights]] violations,

including 7 involving child sexual assault.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sigar.mil/pdf/inspections/SIGAR%2017-47-IP.pdf|title=Child Sexual Assault in Afghanistan:Implementation of the Leahy Laws and Reports of Assault by Afghan Security Forces|date=June 2017|website=Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction}}</ref> According to ''The New York Times'', discussing that report, [[American]] [[law]] required military aid to be cut off to the offending unit, but that never happened. [[U.S. Special Operations Forces]] officer, Capt. Dan Quinn, was relieved of his command in Afghanistan after fighting an Afghan militia commander who had been responsible for keeping a boy as a sex slave.<ref>{{cite news

===Desecularization in Afghanistan===

Since the [[Fall of Kabul|American withdrawal from Afghanistan]] and return of the Taliban to power, [[heroin]] production has fallen 95%.<ref>https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20231105-poppy-growth-down-95-in-afghanistan-since-taliban-ban-un</ref> Among the Taliban's first actions was to outlaw the practice of [[bacha bazi]] or child sexual abuse again. In 2022, it was reported that Afghanistan converted secular schools to madrasahs.<ref>[https://www.rferl.org/a/taliban-secular-schools-converted-madrasahs-education/31914672.html 'War On Education': Taliban Converting Secular Schools Into Religious Seminaries]</ref>

In 2022, it was reported that the [[Taliban]] in [[Afghanistan]] converted [[secular]] schools to madrasahs.<ref>[https://www.rferl.org/a/taliban-secular-schools-converted-madrasahs-education/31914672.html 'War On Education': Taliban Converting Secular Schools Into Religious Seminaries]</ref>

=== Future of atheism in China ===

Since the [[Taliban]] have been in power subsequent the [[War in Afghanistan]], they have cracked down on the sexual abuse of children committed by the Afghan National Security Forces.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/22/opinion/ignoring-sexual-abuse-in-afghanistan.html|title=Ignoring Sexual Abuse in Afghanistan|author=The Editorial Board|date=2015-09-21|work=The New York Times|access-date=|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> During the time of this sexual abuse of children, American soldiers were instructed not to intervene.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/22/opinion/ignoring-sexual-abuse-in-afghanistan.html|title=Ignoring Sexual Abuse in Afghanistan|author=The Editorial Board|date=2015-09-21|work=The New York Times|access-date=|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> See: [[Sexual abuse in Afghanistan]]

See: [[Future of atheism in China]]

== United States, irreligion vs. religion, demographics and desecularization ==

== United States, irreligion vs. religion, demographics and desecularization ==