Cult of domesticity

A 39-year-old Beijing man surnamed Wang has one wish for the new year: to be reunited with his wife, who remains in police custody for her association and promotion of illegal quasi-Christian cult, Church of the Almighty God.

On December 11 last year, Wang posted a message on an online forum titled "Anti-Church of the Almighty God," which was formed by relatives of cult members. Wang sought help for his wife, who was detained by police for spreading rumors about the end of the world.

The aim of her doomsday message was to recruit new members for the cult, according to police.

A crackdown on the so-called Church of the Almighty God resulted in the arrests of 17 followers in Beijing on December 20, 2012.

Cults have been around for many years in China, but arguably the most publicized crackdown came in 2002. It targeted followers of Falun Gong, a quasi-Buddhist cult that urged some followers to self-immolate.

Experts agree all cults, regardless of the religion or philosophy they propagate, capitalize on their recruits' alienation from society.

Spreading messages of doom

Wang first found out his 33-year-old wife, who he declined to name, was secretly meeting members of the Church of the Almighty God in 2008. His wife had grown increasingly distant at the time, due in part to her failure to pass postgraduate admission exams for two consecutive years.

"She started becoming a little abnormal," Wang explained. "She brought people [from the cult] home, and they were all very secretive."

Wang soon realized his wife had been in frequent contact over the phone with her mother in Hebei Province, who was already an avid follower of the cult. Wang's wife was introduced to the cult by her mother, before finding a local branch of the church to attend in Shijingshan district.

"At first, I didn't know [she was a cult follower]. When I found out, I opposed it strongly but it had little effect," Wang said. "She told me she would sooner divorce me than leave the cult."

Wang said he has felt "powerless" since his wife of six years was taken into police custody. He has consulted lawyers, who have told him her best chance of securing an early release is by denouncing the cult. For the time being, all Wang can do is express his anguish online.

"Friends, I advise you to never underestimate the power of the Church of the Almighty God cult, and to firmly resist it. I hope the government can completely ban this cult and never let it harm anyone again," he wrote in his post.

The cult was founded in 1990 in Henan Province, but quickly expanded to other provinces and regions.

Police told the Global Times in a December report last year the cult had stirred up panic and unrest in society by inciting followers to confront the Communist Party of China and cheat fellow cult members out of their property.

A police crackdown resulted in arrests of 34 people in Jinjiang, Fujian Province; four in Chongqing Municipality; two in Sichuan Province; seven in Shaanxi Province; four in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region; and five in Hubei Province.

Suspects were arrested for distributing the cult's leaflets warning of an imminent apocalypse and spreading rumors, the Xinhua News Agency reported. Zhao Weishan, the alleged head of the cult, fled to the US as a result of the crackdown.

Ren Yiyi, organizer of a QQ anti-Church of the Almighty God chat group for people in Tianjin, said she knew people who had been recruited by the cult. One of her friends who joined had tried in vain a couple of years ago to convince Ren to become a follower.

"People who join all lack love and care from their families," she said. "They are originally nice people, [but] the police should step up punishment for cult-related activities."