A troubling revelation emerged from the 2023 Religious Freedom in the World report: a significant majority – over half of the global populace – lives under the dark cloud of religious persecution.
This comprehensive study, conducted by the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, classifies 28 countries as ‘red’ zones. These hotspots of religious oppression impact more than 4 billion individuals worldwide.
Among the worst offenders are China and India, two of the globe’s most populous nations. These countries, along with others from Africa and Asia such as Nigeria, Afghanistan, and Saudi Arabia, have earned a regrettable reputation for severe religious intolerance.
Moreover, the situation appears to be deteriorating. Out of the 28 countries in the ‘red’ zone, 23 have seen a spike in religious persecution since the last report in 2021. Nicaragua and Sudan are the latest entrants into this category, showing a grim trend with no country recording an overall improvement.
The report also points to Nicaragua as a particularly alarming case. The state is now targeting Catholicism, the country’s majority religion. High-profile critics face arrests, while Catholic media are silenced systematically.
In most places, religious persecution typically originates from autocratic regimes or Islamist extremism.
However, countries like India, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka display a unique form of oppression arising from ethno-religious nationalism. Additionally, the report uncovers a rising tide of ‘polite persecution’, a phenomenon where political leaders subtly demote religious groups to second-tier citizenship.
Furthermore, 33 countries have been marked ‘orange’, indicating state-sponsored discrimination and a failure to deliver justice for victims of hate crimes. These nations encompass more than 850 million individuals.
Pray to protect religious freedom worldwide!
