Tag: Pentecostals

Russia: new ruling could reduce prosecutions under ‘anti-missionary’ law

May 24, 2018 Russia Missionaries, Pentecostals, Russia, Yarovaya Law

Lawyers working for Christian and other minority religious organisations in Russia have welcomed a Constitutional Court ruling over the country’s so-called “anti-missionary law”, reports regional news agency Forum 18. The March ruling helps to partially clarify what is missionary activity. It stated that “giving information about religious events would constitute . . . Read More

Russia’s religious communities face ‘unclear’ requirements

April 27, 2018 Russia Baptists, Churches, Jehovah's Witnesses, Missionaries, Nizhny Novgorod, Pentecostals, Proselytism, Russia

Legal requirements applied to the expression of freedom of religion in Russia impose a significant burden on religious communities not recognised by the state – in the shape of fines, legal costs and bureaucracy – reports regional news agency Forum 18. The requirements are “unclear” and applied “inconsistently”, Forum 18 . . . Read More

‘State-sponsored repression’ behind Eritrea’s refugee epidemic

April 24, 2018 Eritrea Abune Antonios, African Union, East Africa, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Human rights, Pentecostals, Refugees, Religious freedom, USA

Eritrea remains “one of the worst examples of state-sponsored repression of freedom of religion or belief in the world”, says USCIRF Commissioner. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

“State-sponsored repression” is the reason Eritrea is one of the world’s main sources of refugees, a US human rights commission has heard. The East African country is not at war, nor does it suffer from terrorism, but some estimate that as many as 10 per cent of Eritreans have fled . . . Read More

India: violence against Christians in Tamil Nadu continues

April 24, 2018 India Anti-conversion law, Hindu nationalism, India, Pentecostals, Tamil Nadu

Thangaraj Ramasamy sustained severe head and neck injuries in an alleged attack by his neighbour. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

The southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu continues to see outbreaks of religiously motivated violence, with one recent case involving a Christian labourer who says he was attacked by a neighbour who accused him of trying to convert Hindus. In a report filed with the police, Thangaraj Ramasamy, who became a . . . Read More

Indian police play down mob attack on Christian meeting

April 18, 2018 India BJP, Chhattisgarh, Hindu nationalism, India, Narendra Modi, Pentecostals, Police

Christian families have fled their homes in eastern India after telling police a Hindu nationalist mob had attacked a church fellowship meal, only to be met with attempts to silence them. Pastor Kasi Ram told World Watch Monitor that only three Christian families remained in the village of Bakel – . . . Read More

Thousands of churches closed in Rwanda, as Cameroon considers following suit

April 6, 2018 Rwanda Cameroon, Churches, Kigali, Pentecostals, Rwanda, Sub-Saharan Africa

Pentecostal churches, like this one in Ethopia's capital Addis Baba, are mushrooming in sub-Sahara Africa. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Rwanda has closed thousands churches in the country since February for alleged “noise pollution” and failing to comply with building regulations. Now Cameroon – another majority-Christian country – is considering following suit. The call to shut down some of Cameroon’s Pentecostal churches follows reports of gross misconduct by a number . . . Read More

UN ‘failing’ Eritrea’s detained Christians

March 16, 2018 Eritrea Abune Antonios, Asmara, East Africa, Eritrea, Human rights, Pentecostals, Religious freedom

Eritrea’s human rights record was again in the spotlight at the UN Human Rights Council earlier this week. Kate Gilmore, Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in her opening remarks that over 100 people were arrested in Eritrea in 2017 for practising religions not officially recognised by the state. . . . Read More

Rwanda: Six pastors arrested following shutdown of 700 churches

March 8, 2018 Rwanda Churches, Kigali, Pentecostals, Rwanda

Six pastors have been arrested and accused of “masterminding” a ploy to disobey the Rwandan government’s order to shut down over 700 churches in one province. The pastors were alleged to have held “illegal meetings with bad intentions”, the BBC reported. The churches in the central province of Kigali were . . . Read More

Rwanda: 700 churches closed down – in just one province

March 1, 2018 Rwanda Churches, Kigali, Pentecostals, Rwanda

Sainte-Famille Church in Kigali. (Photo: Flickr/Orlando1978)

Rwanda has ordered 700 churches in Kigali Province to suspend activities from today (1 March) because of concerns over health and safety. Under a newly proposed law the churches are expected to meet “basic requirements in terms of safety, hygiene, infrastructure and legality”, Justus Kangwagye, a government official, said. The . . . Read More

Indonesia sees reduction in religious freedom violations

January 24, 2018 Indonesia Ahok, Churches, Indonesia, Indonesian Ulema Council, Islamic Defenders Front, Jakarta, Java, Pentecostals, Religious freedom

In 2010, Bogor’s GKI Yasmin church was sealed and padlocked by order of the mayor and city government. They still hold Sunday services outside the church, and stage monthly services outside Indonesia’s Presidential Palace.. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Indonesia saw fewer violations of religious freedom in 2017 than the year before, a national human rights group said this week, although it said it remained concerned about “the politicisation of religious and social differences”. In its ‘2017 Report on Religious Freedom and Religious Minorities in Indonesia’, the Setara Institute . . . Read More

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