Report cites oppression worldwide of Christians, Muslims, Jews and others
Annual U.S. report highlights both violence and government harassment
Rising antisemitism and Islamophobia are among the great threats to religious freedom, much of it exacerbated by the war between Israel and Hamas, the most recent religious-freedom report issued by the U.S. State Department makes clear. The same report also pointed to attacks on Christians and adherents of other religions.
The report, issued annually as required by federal law, outlined numerous incidents and trends related to religious freedom during the 2023 calendar year.
In presenting the report late month, U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken noted that “religious freedom is still not respected for millions of people around the world.” In fact, he pointed to a study by the Pew Research Center indicating that government restrictions on religion had reached their highest level since at least 2007.
In general, Blinken struck a pessimistic tone about the worldwide state of religious freedom:
Today governments around the world continue to target individuals, shutter places of worship, forcibly displace communities, and imprison people because of their religious beliefs. Some countries place restrictions on wearing certain types of religious dress; others enforce it. In some instances, governments are reaching beyond their own borders to target individuals because of their faith and their advocacy for religious freedom. In every region, people continue to face religious-based violence, religious-based discrimination, both from governments and their fellow citizens. They may be shut out of schools, denied jobs, harassed, beaten, or worse.
Among the examples he gave:
Blasphemy laws in Pakistan help foster a climate of intolerance and hatred that can lead to vigilantes and mob violence.
Officials in Hungary continue to use antisemitic tropes and anti-Muslim rhetoric, and they penalize members of religious groups who criticize the government.
Nine other European nations have laws that effectively ban some forms of religious clothing in public spaces.
India has a “concerning increase” in anti-conversion laws, hate speech and demolitions of homes and places of worship for members of minority faith communities.
Despite those concerns, Blinken also saw some reasons for optimism:
Religious leaders are advocating across the globe on behalf of the Baha’is, who are being suppressed and persecuted in Iran and across the Middle East.
Activists such as Rushan Abbas, founder of Campaign for Uyghers, are raising awareness about the genocide and crimes against humanity that China is committing against the predominantly Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang.
In November, Czechia brought officials, practitioners, faith and civil society leaders from some 60 countries to share ways to push back against authoritarian governments that are cracking down on religious freedom.
As is customary, the report did not provide a “worst of” list or otherwise compare rights records of countries with each other. Nor did it provide an assessment of religious freedom in the United States. The report was based on information compiled by ambassadors and embassy staff as well as the reports of media and nongovernmental organizations.
Here are summarized excerpts of the report on several countries:
China
On Sept. 1 of last year, new administrative measures took effect requiring churches, mosques and other places of religious activity to pledge allegiance to the Chinese Communist Party and support the “Sinicization” of religion, requiring sermons to reflect “socialist core values.”
Meanwhile, the government continued to assert other types of control over religious practices, such as imprisoning religious leaders and preventing the publication of religious materials. The government’s practices extended to surveillance outside of China. Among the groups targeted were Christians, Muslims, Tibetan Buddhists and Falun Gong practitioners.
India
The National Crimes Records Bureau reported hundreds of attacks on minority religious groups, primarily Christians and Muslims. There were also numerous disruptions of Christian and Muslim worship services along with vandalism of their houses of worship. During violence in the northeastern state of Manipur beginning in May 2023, at least 253 churches were burned down and more than 60,000 displaced because of violence.
Iran
In September, the Parliament approved a bill to strengthen enforcement of its interpretation of Islamic dress codes, raising the penalty for noncompliance to 10 years in prison and increasing fines. Earlier, the country began a domestic surveillance program, including the use of street cameras, to enforce the hijab law. The government also closed dozens of businesses for allowing patrons to violate the law.
The government also strengthened its regulations affecting Christian practices; among the new rules was one prohibiting Christian worship in the Farsi language.
Nicaragua
During the year, the Nicaraguan government accelerated its attacks on Catholicism and, to a smaller degree, Christian evangelicalism. In April, President Daniel Ortega called the country’s Catholic Church hierarchy “bishops of Satan.” In February, a judge sentenced Bishop Rolando Alvarez, without trial, to 26 years in prison and revoked his citizenship for committing treason and cybercrimes. The same month, the government exiled 222 political prisoners who had been accepted for humanitarian parole into the United States, including six Catholic priests and five others affiliated with the Catholic Church.
Pakistan
The Center for Social Justice reported that 329 people were accused of blasphemy during the year. About 95 percent were Muslim, and most of the remainder were Christian. This is about twice the number of accusations of the previous year.
Meanwhile, media documented the killings of at least 16 persons during the year for their religious beliefs. They were seven Shia Muslims, four Sikhs, three Christians, a Hindu and an Ahmadi Muslim.
Activist groups also cited widespread employment discrimination against Christians, pushing many of them into menial labor.