Spiritual needs

At the same time, mainstream Christian churches do not share many advantages of cults when trying to convert new believers.

As a result, many Christians are calling for greater freedom for the Christian church, in the belief that it will help undermine the growth of cults.

"Sometimes these cults disguise themselves as house churches and tell believers that they have to preach in secret to avoid pressure," Yu Jianrong, a scholar in rural development, said.

Millions of Chinese Christians with mainstream Christian church practice their religion underground or in house churches.

Yu recalls when he was doing field research in Central China's Henan Province, he asked a local religious official the number of Christians in the area. The official answered, "We can exaggerate GDP or other economic indexes, but we have to understate the presence of Christians."

Moreover, local government are often not willing to crack down on cults, Yu said, due to the complexity and sensitivity of religious affairs.

Duan, the researcher from CASS, believes that house churches are the biggest victims of cult heresies, because church members are often the most vulnerable to cult messages.