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When police cleared barricades in Hong Kongs Mong Kok neighborhood this month, they knocked down a makeshift chapel and shattered a statue of Jesus Christ. A day later, activists rebuilt the shrine, adding for good measure a cross in front of government headquarters.

The episode shows the unusually central role Christianity is playing in the protests over how the citys chief executive will be elected, even as the faith is curtailed in China. Many protest leaders are Christians and they cite freedom of religion as one reason theyre leery of greater Communist Party control over the city.

That the faith has thrived in Hong Kong since China regained sovereignty from the British in 1997 serves as a reminder that partys power is limited. While the city government took steps to promote other faiths after the handover, Christianity has grown stronger by some measures and expanded its footprint across the border on the mainland.

We support universal suffrage, because from our religious standpoint, everyone, no matter rich or poor, should have the right to take care of the whole society, said Yuen Tin Yau, the reverend who heads the Methodist Congregations of Hong Kong. He cites Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela, a fellow Methodist, as inspiration. Everyone should have the right to vote -- not just vote but a real choice.

Pro-democracy protesters chant outside the Pacific Place shopping mall in Hong Kong, China, on Oct. 13, 2014. Close

Pro-democracy protesters chant outside the Pacific Place shopping mall in Hong Kong,... Read More

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Pro-democracy protesters chant outside the Pacific Place shopping mall in Hong Kong, China, on Oct. 13, 2014.

The presence of Catholics and Protestants in Hong Kong dates back to at least the mid-19th Century, when the British secured the territory as a trading post for tea and opium. The religious community is now a freewheeling collection of more than 70 denominations, offering a rival authority on a scale that the communists dont face on the mainland.

There, the government recognizes five state-sanctioned religions, including Protestant and Catholic patriotic associations that dont recognize the pope, and has influence over budgets and appointments. Independent churches are forced underground and members can face arrest.

Read more from the original source:
Christians Lead H.K. Protests in Test of Chinas Control