A Chinese pastor is released after seven years in prison, only to find himself unable to get an ID
Beijing, China AP Unable to buy a train ticket, or even see a doctor at a hospital, a Chinese pastor found that even after release from prison, he is not quite free. Rev John Sanqiang Cao was arrested and sentenced to seven years in prison while coming back from a missionary trip in Myanmar. Now back in […]
US religious freedom watchdog “implores” Biden administration to designate India
Washington DC, USReuters The US religious freedom watchdog on Friday again called on the Biden administration to designate India as a “country of particular concern” under the US Religious Freedom Act, citing its alleged targeting of religious minorities overseas. The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an independent federal government commission, said “recent efforts […]
Essay: Repression of women points to worsening religious freedom trends abroad
NURY TURKEL, co-founder of the Uyghur Human Rights Project and chair of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, and Rabbi ABRAHAM COOPER, director of global social action for the Simon Wiesenthal Center, and vice chair of USCIRF, say that denying religious freedom and women’s rights go hand-in-hand…
Iran, 27 other countries critiqued by US watchdog for religious freedom violations
United StatesRNS A watchdog for global religious freedom has used its new annual report to call out the Iranian Government for targeting women’s rights protesters during demonstrations last year. The report also points out the country’s “decades-long campaign” against religious minorities. The US Commission on International Religious Freedom criticised Iran for repressing the religious rights […]
Members of US religious freedom panel speak out against China-Vatican deal
Vatican CityRNS Members of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom criticised a recently renewed Vatican deal with China, saying it emboldens the Chinese government to crackdown on Christian communities. The secretive provisional agreement, originally signed in 2018 and renewed on 2nd October, allows Beijing to have a say in the appointment of bishops in the […]
Taliban impose “harsh” limits on Afghans’ religious freedom – US panel
Washington DC, US Reuters Conditions for religious freedom in Afghanistan have “drastically deteriorated” since the Taliban seized power last year as the last US-led foreign troops pulled out after 20 years of war, a bipartisan US commission said on Tuesday. The Sunni Muslim extremists’ “harsh enforcement” of their hardline version of Islam “violates the freedom […]
Biden names Catholic activist Stephen Schneck to religious freedom panel
United StatesRNS Stephen Schneck, a prominent Catholic political activist and academic, has been appointed by US President Joe Biden to serve on the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, a federal government panel dedicated to protecting religious minorities and other persecuted groups abroad. Schneck, 69, confirmed his appointment on Wednesday in an email to Religion […]
Russia jails more Jehovah’s Witnesses, prompting calls for “strong measures”
RNS Despite a court ruling by Russian judges in October that seemed to endorse leniency for Jehovah’s Witnesses arrested after their faith was labeled “extremist”, a recent rash of sentences against members of the faith group has prompted concern among human rights advocates that the government is continuing its earlier crackdown against the denomination. More […]
US State Department adds Nigeria to list of most serious religious freedom violators
RNS The US State Department has added Nigeria to its list of countries deemed to have the most egregious violations of religious freedom. Sam Brownback, the department’s ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom, told reporters in a Tuesday telephone briefing that the African country was designated as a “country of particular concern” because of an increasing number of […]
Essay: It’s time to end ‘name and shame’ religious freedom policy
In an article first published on Religion News Service, PETER HENNE, an associate professor at the University of Vermont, says it’s time for the US to adapt a different approach to tackling the issue of religious freedom around the world…