China’s War on Faith
Ambassador Sam Brownback on religious freedom, the Chinese Communist Party, and America’s response.
How the Chinese Communist Party is targeting religious freedom and why Sam Brownback believes America must respond.
For decades, many American leaders believed that greater trade and engagement with China would encourage political openness and freedom. Former Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback argues the opposite has happened. On this episode of Newt’s World, Brownback explains how the Chinese Communist Party has used economic growth, technological innovation, and state power to build one of the most sophisticated systems of religious persecution in modern history.
Brownback joins Newt Gingrich to discuss his new book, China’s War on Faith, and shares firsthand accounts of the CCP’s campaign against Christians, Uyghur Muslims, Tibetan Buddhists, and Falun Gong practitioners. He argues that religious freedom is not simply a human rights issue, it is a strategic challenge central to the growing competition between the United States and China. Their conversation explores how authoritarian regimes view faith as a threat, why China fears independent belief systems, and what America can do to defend religious liberty at home and abroad.
Listen to their conversation below, or scroll down for an edited transcript.
Edited Transcript
This conversation has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity.
Newt Gingrich:
Ambassador Brownback, welcome and thank you for joining me on Newt’s World. You’ve spent decades in public service, from Congress and the Senate to serving as governor of Kansas and ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom. Before we discuss your new book, China’s War on Faith, I’d like to start with your own story. What was it like growing up on a farm in Kansas?
Ambassador Sam Brownback:
Looking back on it now, it was idyllic. My parents were always there, and our entire family was involved in the farm operation. It was hard work, and we were constantly dealing with forces we couldn’t control, markets and weather, but we were together.
At the time, I didn’t fully appreciate it because we worked six days a week and often more during planting and harvest seasons. But it taught me discipline, responsibility, and the value of family. I expected farming would be my future until my brother was chosen to take over the operation. That pushed me toward a different path.
Newt Gingrich:
That path eventually led you into public service. In fact, while still young, you became state president of Future Farmers of America. Was that your introduction to politics?
Ambassador Sam Brownback:
It really was. As state president of Future Farmers of America, I came to Washington and met my congressman, Joe Skubitz. Watching what he did made me realize public service could be a meaningful career. That experience planted a seed that eventually grew into a desire to run for office myself.
Newt Gingrich:
You ultimately served in Congress, the Senate, as governor, and later as ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom. What first drew you to the issue of religious liberty?
Ambassador Sam Brownback:
When I arrived in the Senate, I had a staff member named Sharon Pate who worked extensively on religious freedom issues. She encouraged me to begin advocating for persecuted believers around the world.
One of our first efforts involved a Christian missionary imprisoned in Uzbekistan. We simply drew attention to his case and wrote a letter to the government. Not long afterward, he was released. That experience showed me that even small actions could make a real difference. From that point forward, I became deeply committed to defending religious freedom.
Newt Gingrich:
That commitment eventually brought you into direct conflict with the Chinese Communist Party. In fact, China sanctioned you in 2020 and barred you from entering the country.
Ambassador Sam Brownback:
I considered it a badge of honor.
At the time, I was working to expose China’s treatment of the Uyghur population in Xinjiang. We successfully pushed for sanctions against Chen Quanguo, a senior Chinese Communist Party official responsible for implementing many of the policies targeting religious minorities.
The Chinese government retaliated by sanctioning me and several others. I viewed it as confirmation that we were exposing something they wanted hidden.
Newt Gingrich:
Your new book opens with a stark warning: “The Chinese Communist Party is waging a war on faith.” Why do you characterize it that way?
Ambassador Sam Brownback:
Because that’s exactly what they’re doing.
The Chinese Communist Party studied the collapse of the Soviet Union. They saw the role that people of faith played in undermining communist authority, whether it was Catholic believers in Poland or Jewish dissidents in the Soviet Union.
As a result, they concluded that independent religious belief represents a threat to their power. Today they aggressively suppress Christians, Uyghur Muslims, Tibetan Buddhists, and Falun Gong practitioners because these groups recognize a higher authority than the state.
Newt Gingrich:
One of the most striking parts of the book is your discussion of Falun Gong. Many Americans don’t fully understand why the Chinese government views it as such a threat.
Ambassador Sam Brownback:
What finally became clear to me is that Falun Gong is an indigenous Chinese movement. It grew from virtually no followers to tens of millions in just a few years.
That growth frightened the Communist Party because it demonstrated that millions of Chinese citizens were embracing something deeply rooted in Chinese culture rather than communist ideology. The regime viewed that as a direct challenge to its authority and launched an extensive campaign to eradicate the movement.
Newt Gingrich:
You also argue that China uses technology as a tool of repression in ways the world has never seen before.
Ambassador Sam Brownback:
Absolutely.
China has created a sophisticated surveillance state powered by artificial intelligence, cameras, biometric data, and digital tracking systems. Those technologies are being used to monitor religious communities and suppress dissent.
My concern is not only what China is doing within its borders, but how those technologies could spread around the world and be used by other authoritarian governments.
Newt Gingrich:
What should the United States and the free world do differently?
Ambassador Sam Brownback:
First, we must recognize that we are in a long-term competition with the Chinese Communist Party.
Second, we should elevate religious freedom as a strategic priority. This is not simply a human rights issue. Religious freedom is one of America’s defining values and one of the greatest vulnerabilities of authoritarian systems.
Finally, we should stop treating China’s actions as normal. We need to speak honestly about religious persecution, challenge dependence on Chinese supply chains, and stand unapologetically for freedom.
Newt Gingrich:
Sam, your book is both timely and important. Thank you for joining me and for your continued work defending religious liberty around the world.
Ambassador Sam Brownback:
Thank you, Newt. China may be at war with faith, but that’s a war they will not win.
About the Guest
Sam Brownback is a former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, former Governor of Kansas, and longtime advocate for religious liberty around the world. He served as Kansas governor from 2011 until 2018, when he was confirmed as ambassador, following nearly 15 years in the U.S. Senate and earlier service in the U.S. House of Representatives. Brownback began his public service career as Kansas Secretary of Agriculture and also served as a White House Fellow under President George H.W. Bush. A licensed attorney and graduate of the University of Kansas School of Law, he continues to work internationally to advance and protect religious freedom and has taught international religious liberty as a fellow at the Center for Religious Liberty.
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