New Report Released On Religious Restrictions Around the World

On Monday, the Pew Research Center released its tenth annual report on governmental restrictions and social hostility to religion in 198 countries and territories around the world. The 126-page report titled A Closer Look At How Religious Restrictions Have Risen Around the World, concludes:

Over the decade from 2007 to 2017, government restrictions on religion — laws, policies and actions by state officials that restrict religious beliefs and practices — increased markedly around the world. And social hostilities involving religion – including violence and harassment by private individuals, organizations or groups – also have risen since 2007, the year Pew Research Center began tracking the issue.

Indeed, the latest data shows that 52 governments – including some in very populous countries like China, Indonesia and Russia – impose either “high” or “very high”levels of restrictions on religion, up from 40 in 2007. And the number of countries where people are experiencing the highest levels of social hostilities involving religion has risen from 39 to 56 over the course of the study.

State Department Issues 2018 International Religious Freedom Report

On June 21, the U.S. State Department released its 2018 Report on International Religious Freedom, saying:

The annual Report to Congress on International Religious Freedom – the International Religious Freedom Report – describes the status of religious freedom in every country. The report covers government policies violating religious belief and practices of groups, religious denominations and individuals, and U.S. policies to promote religious freedom around the world. The U.S. Department of State submits the reports in accordance with the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.

German Court Rejects City's Ban On"Burkini"

Breibart News today reports:

The ban on the sharia-compliant swimwear known as the “burkini” has been overturned by the higher administrative court in the German federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate after a judge decided the ban violated the constitution.

The ban originated in the city of Koblenz and began on the 1st of January but was challenged by a Syrian asylum seeker who claimed that she required the swimwear for religious reasons and also needed to use the swimming pool because she suffers from back problems...

 According to the Higher Administrative Court, the ban violated the German constitution’s requirement for equal treatment. The city had argued that the burkini made it impossible to know whether or not those wearing them suffered from any hygienic issues or diseases....

USCIRF Urges Trump Administration To Raise Religious Freedom In China Trade Talks

As White House trade negotiations with China continue, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom today issued a release urging the Trump administration to discuss China’s persecution of religious communities with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He who is in Washington, DC for negotiations. USCIRF is particularly concerned with China's treatment of Uighur and other Muslims in Xinjiang. USCIRF Commissioner Gary Bauer said:

The communist Chinese government’s brutal campaign to ‘sinicize’ all religions is one of the worst abuses of religious freedom taking place today.  During these talks about our trade relationship with China, religious persecution and human rights more broadly must be on the table. This is about the right of every man and woman, whether Muslim or Buddhist or Christian or Falun Gong, to worship as he or she sees fit. At a time when the lives and freedoms of millions of Chinese people are under attack by their own government, we cannot, in good conscience, conduct trade negotiations with their leaders as if this didn’t matter.

New Report On Payment of Church Taxes In Europe

Last week, the Pew Research Center released a new Report (full text) on public attitudes in European nations on the payment of church taxes, saying in part:

There is evidence that some Europeans are leaving the church tax system, but there does not appear to be a mass exodus. The survey finds that between 8% of adults (in Switzerland) and 20% (in Finland) say they have left their church tax system.... At the same time, majorities still support the tradition of paying taxes to religious institutions.

USCIRF Issues 2019 International Religious Freedom Report

On April 29, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom released its 2019 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom. The 234-page report recommends that 16 countries be designated as "countries of particular concern" because of their "systematic, ongoing, egregious violations" of religious freedom.  Ten of those are already designated as CPC's by the State Department-- Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan. The six recommended additions are Central African Republic, Nigeria, Russia, Syria, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam. USCIRF also placed 12 countries on its "Tier 2" list for less serious violations of religious liberty. The report details the conditions in each of these 28 nations. 

Additionally the Report recommends five non-state entities be designated "entities of particular concern" because of their suppression of religious freedom. Also USCIRF makes various policy recommendations to the Administration and to Congress.

Bavarian Court Upholds Ban On Judges and Prosecutors Wearing Hijab

In Germany, Bavaria's constitutional court yesterday upheld a Bavarian law banning judges and prosecutors from wearing religious symbols in the courtroom. The court said that officials administering justice have a special obligation to be neutral in religion and ideology.  The ban was challenged a Muslim group that objected to the ban's application to the wearing of Islamic head scarfs. DW reports:

The judge voiced the opinion that the ban, which also forbids officials to wear religious symbols such as crosses or a kippa — or yarmulke — during court proceedings, did not go against laws on religious freedom or equality....

The Islamic group had argued that the ban violated both laws, as the Christian symbol of the cross hangs in Bavarian courtrooms.

This argument was not accepted by the court, which maintained that the presence of crosses was a different matter, as it was determined by the court administration and cast no doubt on the neutrality of individual judges or lawyers.

The court also said the ban did not discriminate against women, as other items of clothing with religious significance that were worn by men were also forbidden.

State Department Will Host Second Ministerial To Advance Religious Freedom

Last week in honor of Religious Freedom Day, the U.S. State Department announced that it will host its second Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom on July 16-18, 2019, in Washington, D.C. The announcement said in part:

This Ministerial will again gather hundreds of government representatives, religious leaders, survivors of religious persecution, and members of civil society to build on the actions that began with the inaugural Ministerial last year.

USCIRF Suggests Standards For Registration of Religious Groups

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom this week issued a Legislative Factsheet on Registration Laws for religious groups.  It sets out seven standards necessary for registration laws to protect religious freedom:

• Registration of religious groups cannot be mandatory: Registration can only be required to confer legal personality and must not be compulsory in order to practice religion....
• Legislation cannot contain undue restrictions or other bureaucratic burdens that hinder access to legal personality....
• Requirements for registration must be precise and defined....
• Registration laws must be non-discriminatory....
• Religious organizations must be carefully defined....  religion and belief must be construed broadly and include both traditional and non-traditional religions and beliefs, including both theistic and non-theistic beliefs....
• Registration requirements cannot be onerous or invasive....
• There must be avenues for appealing denials...

Chinese Police Detain Prominent Pastor and Some Members of Unregistered Church

The New York Times reported earlier this week that on Sunday Chinese police detained Wang Yi, one of China's most prominent Protestant pastors.  His Early Rain Covenant Church, with its over 500 members, is one of many churches that are not registered with the government. These independent Protestant churches that have not complied with the registration laws are one of the fastest growing religious movements in China, claiming some 30 million adherents. More than 100 members of Early Rain were also detained, though a number were released by Monday with some of those then being placed under house arrest.

Should Japanese Government Pay For Shinto Royal Rites?

The Telegraph reports:

Prince Akishino, the younger son of Japan’s Emperor Akihito, has stirred controversy by suggesting that the state should not cover the cost of a Shinto religious ritual for his older brother’s accession to the Chrysanthemum Throne next year....

Instead, he said the cost of the Daijosai rite in November should come directly from the imperial family’s funds.....

Under the terms of the constitution, the government is not permitted to engage in religious activities and there are some, apparently including the prince, who believe that the government paying for the two-day Shinto Daijosai ritual runs contrary to those rules.

Japanese Court Rejects Challenge To Prime Minister's Visit To Yasukuni Shrine

Kyodo News reports on a decision by a Japanese appellate court yesterday holding that a 2013 visit by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to the Yasukuni Shrine did not violate the religious freedom of the 450 citizens who brought the lawsuit. The shrine honors millions of war dead, but also convicted war criminals, and the Prime Minister's visit, according to the plaintiffs heightened international tensions.  The court held that the visit did not interfere with plaintiffs' faith.

House of Lords Debates Religious Intolerance In UK

On Wednesday in Britain the House of Lords engaged in an extensive debate on religious intolerance and prejudice in the United Kingdom. (Full text of the Parliamentary debate.) Lord Hain described the seriousness of the problem in Britain:

We have grown used to pogroms against minorities at various stages in our history as a country: against Jews intermittently and sometimes continuously over the millennia; against the Irish in the nineteenth century; against Jews again in the 1930s; against black and Asian Britons from the late 1950s until today; and against Muslims in the first two decades of this century. But what is entirely novel today is a toxic convergence of attacks on Jewish, black and Muslim British citizens all at the same time. I am not aware of any period in our history when this has occurred before. It is deadly serious, with many of our citizens living in fear or terror simply because of their religion, race or skin colour. This is not just scandalous, it is criminal.

Lord Bourne said in part:

We have asked the Law Commission to review the coverage and approach of current hate crime legislative provision. We must be clear: when someone has perpetrated a hate crime, they will be held accountable for it. Later this year, we will launch a wide-ranging national hate crime public awareness campaign publicly to address hate crime. The refresh commits us to updating the True Vision website to make it easier to use and to ensure it remains the key central platform for all hate crime reporting. We are working with the National Police Chiefs’ Council to provide hate crime training for all call handlers in order to ensure an appropriate response from the first contact, and we are creating the challenging hate crime support group—a network of organisations who share resources, skills and best practice.

Law & Religion UK also reports on the debate.

China Is Engaged In Mass Detention of Muslims

A New York Times story posted Saturday reports that the Chinese government is engaged in mass detention of Muslims:

In a campaign that has drawn condemnation around the world, hundreds of thousands of Uighurs and other Muslim minorities have been held in “transformation” camps across Xinjiang for weeks, months or years at a time, according to former inmates and their relatives.

Beijing says the facilities provide job training and legal education for Uighurs and has denied carrying out mass detentions.

But speeches, reports and other documents online offer a clearer account than previously reported of how China’s top leaders set in motion and escalated the indoctrination campaign, which aims to eradicate all but the mildest expressions of Islamic faith and any yearning for an independent Uighur homeland.

Turkey Releases American Pastor

The Washington Post reported yesterday:

American pastor Andrew Brunson flew out of Turkey late Friday after a Turkish court convicted him of aiding terrorism but sentenced him only to time served. His release came one day after U.S. officials said a deal had been reached with Turkey’s government to secure his freedom....

The case of the evangelical Christian preacher caught up in Turkey’s post-coup security sweep had garnered attention at the highest levels of the U.S. government and become a sore point in the two countries’ relationship.

The White House, through the Press Secretary, issued a press release welcoming Pastor Brunson's release. (See prior related posting.)

Senate Hearing On International Religious Freedom

On Oct. 2, the U.S. Senate Judiciary committee held a hearing on Threats to Religious Liberty Around the World.  Transcripts of the witnesses' testimony and a video of the entire hearing are available on the committee's website.

Pence Announces New US Program To Aid Victims of Genocide and Religious Persecution

Yesterday, Vice President Mike Pence delivered a 30-minute address (full text) at the State Department's Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom.  The Vice President called out a long list of countries for their records of religious persecution and intolerance.  He went on to say:

And it’s my privilege as Vice President to announce today that the United States of America will establish the Genocide Recovery and Persecution Response Program, effective today....

Under this new program, the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development will closely partner with local faith and community leaders to rapidly deliver aid to persecuted communities, beginning with Iraq.  Crucially, this support will flow directly to individuals and households most in need of help.

Report Released On 2016 Global Restrictions On Religion

Last week, the Pew Research Center on Religion & Public Life released its ninth annual study of global restrictions on religion. The 125-page report (full text) is titled Global Uptick In Government Restrictions on Religion in 2016.  It highlights: "Nationalist parties and organizations played an increasing role in harassment of religious minorities, especially in Europe."  According to the report:

The share of countries with “high” or “very high” levels of government restrictions – that is, laws, policies and actions by officials that restrict religious beliefs and practices – rose from 25% in 2015 to 28% in 2016. This is the largest percentage of countries to have high or very high levels of government restrictions since 2013, and falls just below the 10-year peak of 29% in 2012.

Meanwhile, the share of countries with “high” or “very high” levels of social hostilities involving religion – that is, acts of religious hostility by private individuals, organizations or groups in society – remained stable in 2016 at 27%.

State Department Hosts First-Ever Ministerial To Advance Religious Freedom

Yesterday was the first day of the U.S. State Department's 3-day Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom.  RNS reports that U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback opened the Ministerial at the State Department, urging the 350 conference participants from 80 countries to work together to advance religious freedom. The faiths represented at the State Department conference include Muslims, Jews, Christians, Buddhists, Hindus, Sikhs, Baha’is, and Yazidis.  The State Department describes the agenda of this first-ever Ministerial:

On July 24, we will equip and empower civil society organizations, including organizations working on religious freedom, to understand better how to access U.S. financial support for their efforts...

On July 25, members of civil society groups, including religious leaders and survivors of religious persecution, will convene to tell their stories, share their expertise, and ultimately unite on a path to greater religious freedom in our societies....

On July 26, government and international organization representatives will participate in plenary sessions focused on: (1) identifying global challenges to religious freedom, (2) developing innovative responses to persecution on the basis of religion, and (3) sharing new commitments to protect religious freedom for all.....

Here is the full schedule of panels. Various side events are also scheduled.

UPDATE: As reported by Blog from the Capital, the Summit ended with the Potomac Declaration and a Plan of Action. Critics contend that the Summit accomplished little.

Restrictions On Religion Around The World Continue To Increase

The Pew Forum this week released its 9th annual study of restrictions on religion imposed by countries around the world.  The 124-page report (full text) says in part:

Restrictions on religion around the world continued to climb in 2016, according to Pew Research Center’s ninth annual study of global restrictions on religion. This marks the second year in a row of increases in the overall level of restrictions imposed either by governments or by private actors (groups and individuals) in the 198 countries examined in the study.

The share of countries with “high” or “very high” levels of government restrictions – that is, laws, policies and actions by officials that restrict religious beliefs and practices – rose from 25% in 2015 to 28% in 2016. This is the largest percentage of countries to have high or very high levels of government restrictions since 2013, and falls just below the 10-year peak of 29% in 2012.