The Chinese Communist Party enacted new restrictions on foreign missionaries there May 1, preventing them from preaching, evangelizing and establishing various religious organizations among other activities without official government approval.
Read More(REVIEW) The strength of her book is that, for the most part, she does not feature dissidents who consciously oppose the government. Instead, she focuses on ordinary, law-abiding people who consider themselves to be loyal Chinese citizens but who unwittingly cross the CCP’s constantly changing redlines. The people Feng features find ways to live with dignity and integrity in the crucible of China’s dictatorship.
Read MoreMore than 240 Christians were massacred in attacks on villages in Plateau and Benue states during Lent and Easter, some as they worshiped, news agencies and religious liberty advocates reported.
Read More(REVIEW) The Dalai Lama has hopes for Tibet, but as someone who knows the feeling of having governance forced upon him all too well, he does not say that these conditions are the absolutely correct ones. Instead, he makes clear that neither the CCP nor he should decide the destiny of the Tibetan people. While the Dalai Lama expresses disappointment at the fact that he will likely not return to Tibet.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Why empower a small group of unelected, perhaps unrepresentative, people from some religious communities with official privileged access to the governor? Why treat seven people as if they could speak for the millions of religious believers in Texas? Can a Baptist properly reflect Catholic concerns, or an Orthodox Jew reflect Muslim concerns?
Read MoreConditions in Afghanistan and India continued to deteriorate and remained poor in Nigeria and Vietnam, USCIRF commissioners said March 25 in its 2025 Report on International Religious Freedom, calling out countries where Christian minorities face murder, torture and other ills either sanctioned by the government or with little governmental intervention.
Read More(ANALYSIS) In recent days, a horrifying surge of violence and bloodshed has swept across Syria, leaving a civilian death toll of nearly 1,400. Most of the victims were part of the Alawite sect, former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad’s religious community. A number of Christians who live in close proximity to Alawite communities have also been killed.
Read More(ANALYSIS) In the chaos, journalists have struggled to confirm statistics about fatalities, while waves of social media videos claim to show crucified Christians, Alawites and other members of religious and ethnic minority groups being beaten, militants firing machine guns into houses and committing other atrocities.
Read MoreAt least 973 civilians were killed in the initial attack by Alawite gunmen and killings that followed as the military and security forces intervened, the independent monitoring group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported, in addition to 250 Alawite gunmen and 231 members of the Ministry of Defense and security forces.
Read MoreTorturing and killing pastors and priests, prosecuting residents for exercising religious freedom, banning worship and entire religious communities, closing churches, prosecuting missionaries and banning Scripture as extremist literature are among the most egregious atrocities Forum 18 cited in its March religious freedom survey of Ukraine.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Last month, the U.N. Human Rights Council adopted a resolution agreeing to establish a fact-finding mission on the serious human rights violations and violations of international humanitarian law committed in the provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Read MorePastors have reported that they have been forced to shelter rebels inside their churches as well as within their surrounding communities. The rebels are well aware that hiding in these sanctuaries guarantees them protection, given the government’s longstanding commitment to ensuring that attacks do not target civilians, churches or hospitals.
Read MoreWhile the president takes a beating on social media for his USAID cuts, African pastors are silencing those blaming Trump for it. “President Trump is doing what must be done for the good of his country,” said Tinashe Hungwe, a cleric in Zimbabwe. “It is high time to make our governments accountable and provide for their people not to blame the U.S.”
Read MoreThe beheaded bodies of 70 Christians were found in a Protestant church in North Kivu Province in the Congo around Feb. 15, several religious freedom advocates said, blaming the extremist Allied Democratic Forces. The ADF is accused of approaching homes in Mayba, in the Lumbero territory, beginning Feb. 12 and capturing as many as 100 Christians through Feb. 15.
Read MoreAyaan Hirsi Ali, a Somali-born Dutch-American activist, author and thinker, has become best known for her outspoken views on Islam, women's rights and the societal consequences of secularism. Her religious journey to becoming one of the most prominent critics of Islam into her recent conversion to Christianity has been shaped by personal experiences of suffering, political activism and intellectual transformation.
Read MoreMore than nine in 10 U.S. Protestant pastors say their church has engaged in at least one of six ways to bring attention to Christians suffering persecution within the past year, according to a Lifeway Research study. Around one in 14 (7%) say they haven’t done any of those six and less than 1% aren’t sure.
Read MoreAbout 50 Christians were killed, dozens kidnapped and homes destroyed since late January in several attacks spanning southern to northern Nigeria, Christian persecution watchdog groups said. At least three pastors were killed in attacks in Kaduna in north-central Nigeria and Gombe in northeastern Nigeria.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Freedom of worship is tenuous around the globe. The Pew Research Center’s latest annual report found “high” or “very high” levels of government constraints on religion in 59 of the 198 countries and territories it analyzed – a new record. When Pew began releasing reports on the issue in 2007, just 40 countries’ restrictions on religion were classified that way.
Read MoreThe church’s initiatives involve venturing into coffee farming to transform unused land into productive agricultural spaces, mass registration of untitled church land, issuing spiritual warnings and pursuing legal action against land grabbers. The plan will safeguard property and contribute to economic growth — ensuring that church land remains a valuable resource for future generations.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Nearly two decades have passed since the 26-year civil war ended in Sri Lanka. Yet, Muslims displaced from the island nation still face significant challenges in returning to their homes and reclaiming their land. The civil war between the Sri Lankan armed forces and the Tamil guerrilla separatists, displaced around 300,000 Tamils and 70,000 Muslims.
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