This paper will discuss the roots of the modern Western concern with religious freedom in the so-called Wars of Religion in the 16th and 17th century. It will also argue that the motivation for China's policy of Sinicizing religion largely grows out of its experience with Western missionaries in the 19th century, who often arrived on gunboats and were seen as agents of imperialism. The Western preoccupation with religious freedom is tied to a conception of religion as an entirely private activity, whereas the Chinese state views religions, foreign religions in particular, as potential rivals for the loyalty of its people. This paper will consider the religious philosophy of Simone Weil as the source of a critique of both approaches.