Three church activists have been arrested on charges of revealing state secrets for talking about the crackdown, according to the Hong Kong-based Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy.
Such actions vary from place to place, with greater tolerance reported in the northeast and some other parts of China.
Yet selective enforcement of rules can intimidate unofficial congregations everywhere, the US State Department said in its annual report on religious freedom in China.
China's "respect for freedom of religion and freedom of conscience remained poor, especially for many unregistered religious groups and spiritual movements," the report said.
China's Foreign Ministry res-ponded Sunday, rejecting the criticism and accusing Washington of "interfering in China's internal affairs under the guise of religious issues."
At Shanghai's imposing Cath-edral of St. Ignatius -- part of the officially authorized Roman Catholic Church -- such feuds and commercialism seem far away.
Parishioners follow the Chinese-language Mass on big screen televisions while the only ornaments are a nativity scene in one of the vaults. Christmas Day services are so popular that the church distributes tickets in order to limit the numbers who attend.
"We don't pay any attention to the rest of those things," said Li Ting, a middle-aged parishioner. "We just want to carry out our religion and celebrate this special time of year."
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