The cause of Christians striving to practise their faith without fear or pressure often advances and retreats in countries outside those where Christians directly live under the most oppression. In London, New York, Strasbourg, Washington, and other centres of deliberation, important developments happen concerning Christians and religious freedom more broadly. This is the page where we consolidate news with an international scope.
Religious freedom learning platform launched at UN
A new website to help promote understanding of freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) was launched yesterday in Geneva, Switzerland, at the 37th session of the Human Rights Council. The Sweden-based FoRB Learning Platform provides downloadable resources in 13 different languages, including quick guides to religious rights, movie clips, theological […]
Religious-freedom violations in education ‘under-reported’
A new report highlights the ways in which schoolchildren and their families experience religious discrimination and calls for it to end. The report, ‘Discrimination on the Basis of Religion or Belief in Education’, by advocacy group Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), explores violations of religious freedom in schools in Myanmar, Iran, […]
Amnesty: ‘Discrimination rife in all regions of the world … with deadly consequences’
A review of the human-rights situation in 159 countries during 2017, published by Amnesty International yesterday (22 February), shows that religious persecution continues in the form of threats, attacks, extrajudicial killings and even genocide, while harsh sentences continue to be handed out – sometimes even death sentences – for changing […]
Imam calls for radical reforms to end extremism and safeguard Eastern Christians
Sexual slavery practised by Islamic State (IS) jihadists is condoned in literature that is available at Islamic institutions and should be burnt, a leading imam in France has said. Hocine Drouiche, vice president of the Conference of Imams of France and an imam in Nimes, said that the ideology behind the […]
Rome’s Colosseum to be floodlit red to remember Asia Bibi and Boko Haram victim
The Colosseum in Rome will be floodlit in red later this month to highlight the persecution of Christians around the world, particularly in Iraq and Syria. The iconic landmark, in which some of the earliest Christians are believed to have been martyred under the Romans, will be floodlit red on […]
Religious freedom ‘most important foreign relations topic’ – Sam Brownback
Newly appointed head of the US Office of International Religious Freedom, Sam Brownback, made his first public appearance at a gathering this week of Muslim, Jewish and Christian leaders meeting to discuss a shared commitment to protecting religious minorities in the Muslim world, reports the Catholic News Agency. “I think […]
Europe shows ‘almost sinister’ indifference to persecuted Christianity – bishop
A new, aggressive form of atheism has led to a devaluing of religious freedom, a Catholic bishop in Austria has claimed. The Bishop of Linz, Manfred Scheuer, said that this new atheism associates religion with oppression and a lack of liberty, which has led to a selective interpretation of human […]
US installs Sam Brownback as religious freedom ambassador
The US Senate has confirmed Sam Brownback as the new head of the Office of International Religious Freedom. Brownback is the first ambassador under the US’s revised International Religious Freedom Act, which affirms a commitment to international religious freedom as a foreign relations policy. Brownback, 60, ran for president in […]
UK Parliament hears ‘squeeze’ of persecution of Christians ‘as dangerous as violence’
Most of the 200 million Christians globally under pressure for their faith don’t experience violence but a ‘daily squeeze’ which is more insidious and – if left unchallenged – can lead to violence, MPs and others heard yesterday (17 January) at the launch of Open Doors’ World Watch List 2018 […]
Netherlands joins UN Security Council to shine light on IS genocide
The Netherlands has just joined the UN Security Council as a temporary member for a year. Ten days before, its Foreign Minister, Halbe Zijlstra, published a letter explaining the Dutch government’s response on the use by politicians of the term “genocide”. The Dutch Parliament had had several debates on the […]