The Chinese national flag is pictured in a file photo in front of a Catholic church in the village of Huangtugang. Photo: CNS. The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released a new report last week highlighting the countries with the worst religious persecution in the world.
This year, the countries topping USCIRF’s list of the world’s most egregious religious freedom violators were Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Burma, China, Cuba, Eritrea, India, Iran, Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Vietnam.
Here are some of the countries with the most concerning religious freedom trends in the last year.
Afghanistan: Religious freedom and free expression have continued to deteriorate in Afghanistan under Taliban rule, according to the report. The country is violently enforcing an apostasy law that bans conversions from Islam.
Azerbaijan: A majority Muslim country, Azerbaijan was included in USCIRF’s CPC list this year for the first time. The country has been increasingly encroaching on the religious rights of both Azerbaijani Muslims as well as of ethnic minorities, such as the Armenian Christians.
China: The most populous country in the world, China is a mainstay of USCIRF’s CPC list because of its continued “sinicisation” program, which subjects all its citizens and all religions in the country to the ideology of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Under China’s communist government, all religions are strictly controlled by the state and any unauthorised religious activity is dealt with severely.
India: The second-most populous country in the world, India is increasingly emerging as a leader on the world stage. According to the report, thousands of Christians and Muslims were subjected to attacks and intimidation in 2023 while hundreds of churches and mosques were destroyed.
Iran: Citizens in the Islamic Republic of Iran continue to suffer “extremely poor” religious freedom conditions, according to the report. In 2023, protesters against the government’s mandatory hijab laws and other restrictions on religion were systematically harassed, arrested, raped, tortured, and, in some cases, executed.
Nicaragua: Nicaraguan dictators Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo intensified their persecution of the Catholic Church and other religious groups in 2023. In the last year, the dictatorship seized the assets and properties of Catholic churches, monasteries, and schools and arbitrarily imprisoned and exiled hundreds of Catholics and political dissidents.
Nigeria: More than 8,000 Christians were killed across Nigeria last year, according to the report. On Christmas weekend alone, a series of attacks resulted in the deaths of 190 Christians in Nigeria’s Plateau state.
Pakistan: Terrorist attacks against religious minorities and places of worship increased significantly in Pakistan in 2023, according to the report. The government moved to further strengthen prohibitions against “blasphemy,” which observers say is a method of targeting religious minorities.