Tibetan sources who spoke to Radio Free Asia linked the closures to the Chinese government’s education policies and its promotion of the Ethnic Unity and Progress Law, which took effect on July 1, 2026. They said the shutdowns could further limit opportunities for Tibetan children to learn their mother tongue and cultural traditions.
I actually like the idea of state atheism but the consequences of implementing such policies will always lead to suffering, repression, and cultural genocide. I’ve thought about this a bit and haven’t come up with any kind of gentle solution. It seems to me that the core issue is the structural aspect of the religion that imposes its own laws on the group that conflicts with other hierarchies.
I think secularism is the closest you can get to something like that. People have a right to believe what they want even if that can be harmful. The most we can do is to make sure that those harmful beliefs don’t affect others.
I think you’re probably right. It’s just such a headache to deal with religious nationalism always inching toward power and capturing offices.