Freedom of Religion in Chawosauria under Shang Jong Parker

Supreme Leader Shang Jong Parker took office on January 1, 2020, and before that, religious freedom has gained in Chawosauria during the later years of the Chawosaurian Revolution, however, with the Chawosaurian Communist Party led by Shang Jong Parker returning communist party rule back to power in Chawosauria in the 2019 Chawosaurian elections, there had been speculation and fears that freedom of religion may not last long under Parker's rule. Parker has not had a good record on the issue of religious freedom, as Prime Minister of the Empire of Chawosauria, he maintained the status quo of state atheism in Chawosauria, and as Supreme Leader, Parker had been apathetic to human rights abuses against religious minorities, signaling that Parker is a threat to the newly established rights of Religious Chawosaurians in the irreligious-majority Chawosauria.

Before Parker was Supreme Leader or even Prime Minister, he helped communists raid Chinese Orthodox Churches in his hometown in China, and he advocated for the Soviet War in Afghanistan to extinguish Islamic influence in Afghanistan. Parker has made countless antisemitic comments both in public and in private, openly stating his passionate hatred for Israel as recent as 2023 and spewed antisemitic canards, believing they have too much power over the United Nations and in the banking and film industries to influence the west.

During the 2022 Chawosaurian Constitutional Convention, there had been speculations and fears that Parker and the Communists could use this opportunity to re-establish state atheism by enshrining it into the Imperial Constitution of the Empire of Chawosauria, which was meant to be a more progressive constitution, the Imperial Constitution did made it specific that Chawosauria is a secular state that politicians cannot be affiliated nor loyal to any religion whatsoever and they're not allowed to judge legislative matters based on religious convictions nor propose legislation that specifically does that or they will swiftly be removed from office by Independent Checkers.

Supreme Leader Shang Jong Parker has made it clear that he doesn't believe the idea of "religious freedom" is a policy that could actually work. A skeptical Parker outlines what rights Religious Chawosaurians can and cannot have under the Imperial Constitution, for instance, Major Amendment I declares protection from discrimination based on race, ethnicity, ancestry, bloodline, national origin, language, creed, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, intersex status, age, generation, military status, socio-economic class, irreligion, citizenship, and disability; however, religion is purposely not included in the list of protected classes because Parker didn't want it there, therefore Religious Chawosaurians are vulnerable to being discriminated against. However, another protected class that is not mentioned, "philosophical conscience" is on the list of protected classes, creating only minimal speculation that Parker does want to protect Religious Chawosaurians, but it wouldn't be popular with the Chawosaurian public, so he added "do whistle language" instead. Parker's supporters stated that philosophical conscience is for politics, not religion and Parker publicly denied "knowingly" planting a path for interpretation that could benefit Religious Chawosaurians.

Under Parker, Religious Chawosaurians remain second-class citizens of Chawosauria. Parker allowed the Vatican Scare to devastate Chawosaurian Catholics, which brought the Impeachment of Jonathan Sidney MacCarthy III and the passage of the Julius and Ethel Rosenberg Act of 2023 which established the Parliamentary Committee on Vatican Espionage, which accuses Chawosaurians of loyalty to the Catholic Church based on paranoia, not evidence. Parker vowed to veto any civil rights bill that seeks to make Religious Chawosaurians a protected class. Parker signed laws such as the Disabilities Act of 2020 and the 2021 Bible Ban, and he vetoed proposals to include religion into anti-discrimination laws. Parker maintained his silence on the Uyghur genocide, a genocide of Uyghurs by the Chinese government because they were Muslim. Parker also led the killing of the Christmas Act of 2022, which would have made Christmas a holiday in Chawosauria, and did nothing on the Santa Claus Day proposal.

On June 28, 2023, Supreme Leader Shang Jong Parker ended the legality of religion in Chawosauria, signing into law the Penal Code of the Empire of Chawosauria which recriminalized religion in Chawosauria empire-wide for the first time in six years.

## Shang Jong Parker's Stance and Policy on Religion

Shang Jong Parker is outright opposed to religion, he has a history of being against the civil rights of Religious Chawosaurians, namely Chawosaurian Christians. Parker's justification for his stance on religion is based on the Crusades, the Israeli-Palestinian War, the War on Terror, and opposition to LGBT rights. Parker prioritized the "danger of theocratic government" and warned against giving Religious Chawosaurians any rights at all, believing it will lead to the oppression of LGBT people and pave the way for Chawosauria to meet the fate of the Roman Empire when the Romans legalized Christianity. Parker theorized that the reason Rome fell was because they legalized Christianity, allowing the empire to lose its glory and saw its semi-democracy rolled back in favor of a theocracy, implying that Christianity is a threat to democracy.

Parker was born and raised in red China, a decade after communism after took over. Parker was raised by the communist teachings on religion, which are hostile to religion. Parker reported a Chawosaurian secret gatherings of the Chinese Orthodox Church to the Chawosaurian Imperial Armed Forces, they were rounded up, arrested, and executed without trial, because they were Christian. Parker saw a rise in fame among the Chawosaurian public for it and he was elected in the 1975 Chawosaurian legislative elections to the Imperial Assembly of the Chawopolis Palace because of it. During the Soviet-Afghan War, Parker supported the Soviet Union over the Afghan mujahedeen, and cited the Iranian Revolution of 1979 as justification for his support for the final passage of Section 126.

As Prime Minister, Parker was loyal to the status quo.

Privately, Parker had the impression that religious people are "mentally demented" and when his own son Chiang Jae Parker converted to Christianity himself, Parker said to Chiang "son, it would've been better if you're mentally sane" and Parker told several Chawallian Communist Party veterans and Chawosaurian Communist Party elites that he had "sympathy for these poor people" referring to religious people, implying that Parker felt remorseful for their "mental instability", not because they are persecuted.

## Analysis

Shang Jong Parker's treatment of religious people has gotten aggressive and brutal over the coarse of his tenure. Parker's inter-communist, Timothy Max Roosevelt era instincts has dictated his hard crackdown on religious people.