Knox Thames wants Christians in America to care about people around the world facing genuine religious persecution — including those who are not Christians. That’s a tall order, he says, because American Christians are so fixated on their own fights…
Women and girls suffer disproportionately from religious freedom violations, experts warn
Special attention must be paid to the plight of women and girls in addressing religious freedom violations around the world, Nazila Ghanea said during a panel discussion hosted by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. “Now, you might think…
Oppressive regimes are now targeting citizens living safely abroad, including in the U.S.
“Transnational repression” is the emerging term for an insidious and growing form of global religious, political and ethnic persecution that has U.S., European and other governments reeling. The expression refers to the actions of foreign countries to intimidate, kidnap and…
In survey of religious oppression across the globe, Russia, Afghanistan and China take center stage
Russia has spent recent years in diplomatic and economic hot water with the United States over its mounting human rights and religious freedom violations, including the persecution of Muslims, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Protestant Christians. But the ongoing invasion of Ukraine…
Threats to religious freedom and to women go hand in hand
Whenever and wherever religious freedom is threatened, so too are the fundamental rights of women and girls, a panel of experts said during a recent virtual hearing before the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. “Gender-based and religiously based discrimination…
Fate of children removed from Christian orphanage in Nigeria two years ago still unknown
Update: Soon after this article was published March 4, news arrived that Richard Solomon Musa Tarfa had that day been convicted in a Nigerian court on a charge of forgery. His law firm was awaiting additional court documents but said…
Facebook is stopping a stupendous amount of religious hate speech, but there are dangers in knowing what should be off-limits
The United States has a vital role to play in ensuring social media companies develop new policies and technologies to better protect religious freedom and human rights online, a federal agency reported. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom also…
Religious freedom and human rights groups praise Biden for diplomatic boycott of Beijing Olympics
A broader-than-usual coalition of religious liberty and human rights groups are praising the Biden administration’s Dec. 6 announcement that the United States will not send a diplomatic delegation to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Although stopping short of a…
Christian and Muslim groups respond differently to U.S. removal of Nigeria as a U.S. Country of Particular Concern
In Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, few topics elicit as much discussion or controversy as politics or religion and the accompanying effects on the people, for good or bad. It is not surprising then, that the recent delisting of Nigeria…