religious persecution
Advancing religious freedom abroad starts at home
By Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons and Maggie Siddiqi — January 15, 2021
(RNS) — On this Religious Freedom Day, we are concerned about the rising threats around the world, but we are hopeful for progress in the years ahead.
Open Doors’ 2021 watch list highlights impact of COVID-19 on religious persecution worldwide
By Emily McFarlan Miller — January 13, 2021
(RNS) — North Korea leads the organization’s annual ranking of the 50 countries where Christians face the most persecution for their faith for the 20th straight year.
Christmas holiday bus attacks in Kenya bring condemnation from Christian and Muslim leaders
By Fredrick Nzwili — December 16, 2020
NAIROBI, Kenya (RNS) — Christian and Muslim leaders have stepped up interfaith dialogue in hopes of reining in the bus attacks and other threats to the border region’s small Christian community.
Scholars call out Putin and the ‘escalation’ of persecution against Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia
By Emily McFarlan Miller — October 2, 2020
(RNS) — A group of 50 religion scholars from around the world are calling on President Vladimir Putin and his administration to end the persecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia.
Hong Kong issues warrant for Samuel Chu, an American citizen, activist and pastor’s son
By Kevin Douglas Grant — August 26, 2020
(RNS) — The arrest warrant caught the attention of American officials concerned about Chinese imposition of authoritarian rule in Hong Kong.
Keeping Baha’i prisoners, Iran threatens the entire country’s health
By Winston Nagan — April 16, 2020
(RNS) — Imprisoning people for their religious convictions is bad enough, but persisting with this policy in the face of a public health crisis crosses into new territory of immorality.
The hand of Iran can be seen in the persecution of 24 Yemeni Baha’is
By Nabil Elias — February 24, 2020
(RNS) — Since the Houthis came to power in 2013, they have begun a program of systematic persecution against the Baha’is that is suspiciously reminiscent of Iran’s historical enmity.
Open Doors warns of ‘rise of the surveillance state’ as North Korea tops watch list again
By Emily McFarlan Miller — January 15, 2020
(RNS) — This year, Christian watchdog organization Open Doors USA is highlighting the ‘rise of the surveillance state’ and its impact on Christians and Muslims in China in its 2019 World Watch List, released Wednesday (Jan. 15).
Muslims in fear as police crack down in India’s heartland
By Sheikh Saaliq — January 7, 2020
MEERUT, India (AP) — A crackdown on protests against a new citizenship law has been the harshest in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, where Muslims comprise 20% of the population.
Who are Black Hebrew Israelites?
By Jack Jenkins — December 13, 2019
(RNS) — On Tuesday (Dec. 10), two men opened fire on a kosher supermarket in Jersey City, New Jersey, ultimately leaving four dead and three wounded in the shooting spree. One of the shooters had ties with the Black Hebrew Israelite movement, which includes organizations labeled as hate groups, in part due to some members voicing anti-Semitic rhetoric.
Pompeo’s ‘Christian leader’ speech goes only as far as Trump allows
By Eric Atcheson — October 16, 2019
(RNS) — It takes a strong sense of compartmentalization to square Christianity’s ethical demands for truth-telling, integrity and human rights with the Trump White House’s elastic relationship with the truth.
Trump aims to protect persecuted Christians, but some aren’t sure he’s helping
By Jack Jenkins — July 25, 2019
WASHINGTON (RNS) — An increasingly vocal band of advocates and experts says the Trump administration’s refugee policies are out of sync with its promises to protect religious minorities from persecution, especially Christians, Yazidis and other groups in the Middle East.
As religious freedom summit ends, State Department announces new alliance, sanctions
By Adelle M. Banks — July 18, 2019
WASHINGTON (RNS) — Many of the survivors of religious violence who spoke at the summit reminded attendees of those who remain persecuted for their faith across the world.
What Mike Pence got wrong at Liberty University
By Chuck Currie — May 16, 2019
(RNS) — There are people across the world and in the United States who face genuine discrimination for their faith. Pence trivialized their plight by suggesting that he is somehow a victim.
The Church of Almighty God members detail arrests in China, seek asylum
By Thomas Maresca — March 25, 2019
SEOUL (RNS) — Leaders of the Church of Almighty God, which has been labeled a cult by Chinese officials, say thousands of their fellow worshippers have been arrested over the past year. Some church members have fled to South Korea to seek asylum.
