Tag: Religious freedom

China’s head of religious affairs warns of ‘domination’ by ‘foreign forces’

August 21, 2018 China Beijing, Catholics, China, Communism, Religious freedom, Sinicisation, Xi Jinping

People leaving the church after a service in Shenyang, north-eastern Dongguang province. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

China’s head of religious affairs has warned that the country’s religious groups must not be “dominated” by “foreign forces”, reports Reuters. “There is no affiliate relationship between our country’s religions and foreign religions. Our country’s religious groups and religious matters do not accept domination by foreign forces,” the religious affairs . . . Read More

China: Christian summer camps closed down, priests dismissed

August 15, 2018 China Catholics, Children, China, Gansu, Religious freedom, Xi Jinping, Youth

Authorities make holding summer youth camps like this one held in 2008, increasingly difficult. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

China has closed several Christian summer camps for children and dismissed two priests for holding a camp, reports Catholic news agency UCAN. The two priests belonged to one of the only two unregistered Catholic churches in Tianshui diocese, in China’s northwest Gansu province. After their dismissal, the Tianshui Municipal Ethnic . . . Read More

Non-state actors behind most religious freedom violations in Indonesia – report

August 14, 2018 Indonesia Ahok, Blasphemy, Hizb ut-Tahrir, Indonesia, Islamic Defenders Front, Minorities, Religious freedom

Young people join protests against the former Christian Jakarta governor Ahok who was convicted of blasphemy in May last year. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

The number of religious freedom violations in Indonesia grew again in 2017 and for the first time non-state actors were the worst offenders, reports the Jakarta Globe. Last year 213 incidents were reported, 4% more than the year before, according to the annual report of the human rights group Wahid . . . Read More

China’s worship places face obligation to fly national flag

August 9, 2018 China China, Churches, Henan, Religious freedom, Sinicisation, Xi Jinping

China's national flag should not only fly at tourist sites like the Great Wall, but also at religious venues, say state-sanctioned religious groups. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

All places of worship in China will have to fly the national flag on national and religious holidays if a proposal by state-sanctioned religious institutions is implemented, reports Radio Free Asia (RFA). “All religious venues should raise China’s national flag to strengthen awareness of respect to the flag and preserve . . . Read More

Hindu extremist violence on the rise in southern Indian states

August 3, 2018 India Andhra Pradesh, Bajrang Dal, BJP, Caste, Churches, Converts, Dalits, Hindu nationalism, House churches, Hyderabad, India, Narendra Modi, Police, Religious freedom, RSS, Telangana

Good Fruit Ministries church in Sangameshwar village of Siddhipet District, Telangana state was demolished by a bull dozer on the directions of uppercaste Hindus who follow Vaastu shastra.

Religious freedom advocate ADF India has noted a rise in incidents of religiously motivated violence in India’s two Telugu language-speaking southern states, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, including the brutal murder of an elderly Christian woman. So far this year, ADF India says it has verified 17 incidents of anti-Christian persecution . . . Read More

US commission calls for Iranian Christians’ release after ‘new miscarriage of justice’

August 2, 2018 Iran Amir Saman Dashti, Church of Iran, Evin Prison, Hassan Rouhani, House churches, Human rights, Iran, Kermanshah, Mohammad Reza Omidi, Proselytism, Ramil Bet-Tamraz, Rasht, Religious freedom, Saheb Fadaie, USA, Victor Bet-Tamraz, Yasser Mossayebzadeh, Youcef Nadarkhani

From left: Saheb Fadaie, Youcef Nadarkhani, Yasser Mossayebzadeh and Mohammad Reza Omidi.

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has called for the “immediate and unconditional” release of an Iranian pastor and three of his church members, after they were taken to prison last week to serve ten-year sentences for “acting against national security” by “promoting Zionist Christianity” and running “house . . . Read More

‘When religious freedom is protected, women’s rights are strengthened’ – US ambassador

August 1, 2018 Global News -- No Particular Country Human rights, Islamic State, Minorities, Myanmar, Rape, Religious freedom, Rohingya, Women

There is a strong link between religious freedom and the facilitation of women’s rights, according to the US Ambassador to the Vatican, Callista Gingrich. In an article for Fox News, Gingrich argues that “when religious freedom is protected, women’s rights are strengthened and societies flourish”. “Female victims of religious discrimination . . . Read More

Indian government body wants church confessions banned

July 30, 2018 India Catholics, India, Kerala, Rape, Religious freedom, Women

The Indian government should ban the sacrament of confession in the country, the National Commission for Women (NCW) has proposed, saying Catholic clergy use it to harass women, AsiaNews reports. The state advisory body said in its statement that confessions can lead to blackmail and that “priests pressure women into . . . Read More

China: Beijing churches call for government to respect religious rights

July 27, 2018 China Beijing, China, Guangdong, House churches, Religious freedom, Shantou

Cross on Dongguang Church against factory name. Shenyang, northeastern China. Shenyang is the capital and largest city of China’s northeast Liaoning Province. It was the site of the 17th-century Manchu capital Mukden, and the imposing Mukden Palace (Shenyang Imperial Palace) is a blend of Manchurian and Tibetan architectural styles. Mausoleums of Qing dynasty emperors can be found at Zhaoling Tomb, amid the pine forests and lakes of Beiling Park, and at Fuling Tomb in the city’s east. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

In a joint declaration, 34 churches in the Chinese capital, Beijing, have called on the government to respect the freedom and rights of religious citizens, advocacy group CSW reports. The churches, which are independent from the state-sanctioned Three-Self Patriotic Movement, committed to “stand together” in the “new environment” that had . . . Read More

US to Turkey: Release pastor Brunson or ‘face the consequences’

July 26, 2018 Turkey Andrew Brunson, Coup, Donald Trump, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Religious freedom, Sanctions, Turkey, USA

US Vice President Mike Pence has said that America will impose “significant sanctions” upon Turkey if it does not release American pastor Andrew Brunson from house arrest and allow him to return to the United States. During remarks delivered on 26 July in Washington, DC, to the Ministerial to Advance . . . Read More

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