It’s understandable that you’re worried about this, considering the stories you’ve heard about censorship and persecution in China. However, it’s important to clarify a few things here that may alleviate your concerns:
Anonymity and online reach: The Internet is vast and mostly anonymous, particularly in the context of a platform like itch.io. Unless you’re a very high-profile individual, the chances of a foreign government being able to identify you and take direct action against you based solely on a game you’ve uploaded to itch.io are virtually nonexistent. Especially if you practice good digital hygiene and avoid giving out personal information.
China’s censorship practices: While it’s true that the Chinese government does engage in censorship and has restrictions on religious content, they are more likely to simply block access to certain materials rather than retaliate against creators, especially those based outside of China.
Case of Salman Rushdie: The Salman Rushdie case was quite unique and involved a complex set of religious, political, and historical factors that are quite different from what you’re describing. It was also a pre-digital era event. The infrastructure of the Internet allows for a much higher degree of anonymity.
Your idea for geoblocking features on itch.io is a thoughtful one, and might be worth suggesting to the site administrators for reasons beyond your specific concern. However, based on your described scenario, it seems unlikely that the Chinese government would single you out for creating a game with Christian themes. It is more likely they would just block the game within their jurisdiction if they found it objectionable.
Remember, you can always seek legal advice or talk to a security consultant if you’re seriously worried. But hopefully, this gives you a bit more peace of mind as you continue your creative work.