Königstein-Montreal, Wednesday, June 22 – Pontifical Charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has released the latest edition of its Religious Freedom Report (RFR), which reveals that persecution has increased since January 2021, while impunity continues to reign for attackers, including oppressive governments.

The RFR has been published by the international Catholic charity every two years since 1999 and is the only non-governmental report on global religious freedom that covers all faiths. 

This year’s report found that 61 countries completely or severely limit religious freedom. This is equivalent to one in every three countries in the world. It means that almost 63% of humanity lives in countries where people are not free to practice, express, or change their religion. In 47 of these countries, the situation has worsened since the last report, whereas only nine showed signs of improvement.

The situation especially affects religious minorities, who in some cases face a real threat of extinction, as a variety of factors – terrorism, cultural suppression, financial discrimination, and legal restrictions – contribute to creating a suffocating atmosphere in their homelands. However, there are also cases where persecution affects the majority religious groups, such as in Nigeria and Nicaragua. 

Culprits of religious freedom violations range from armed terror groups to authoritarian governments, but the rule continues to be one of impunity for attackers who are rarely, if ever, brought to justice or condemned by the international community. 

Half of the countries with the most severe restrictions on religious freedom are in Africa, where a rise in jihadist activity, especially in the Sahel region, continues to be of great concern. But Asia – where China continues to try to exert totalitarian control over all areas of society, including religion, and where India’s state-sponsored ethnic nationalism manifests itself, among others, in the form of harsh anti-conversion laws – is also a continent of particular concern. 

Finally, many Western nations have also been showing alarming signs with the spreading of cancel culture and increased social and political pressure to conform to ideological trends.

In Canada, a year to inform
 
Mario Bard, head of communications at ACN Canada, says: “In Canada, we invite people to visit our website: www.acn-canada.org where they will find, among other things, information in the form of PDF documents and videos. We also invite our followers on social media to share our content to their pages, and to view the full report in English or French* at: https://acninternational.org/religiousfreedomreport/. 

“For French-speaking Canadians, we will also be broadcasting a special episode of Vue d’ailleurs on Radio VM next Wednesday, June 28 at 9:30 a.m. I will be hosting of course, and we will hear from Marcela Szymanski, editor of the report, and Marie-Claude Lalonde, national director of ACN Canada,” says Bard. 

“Finally, in Canada, the abridged report that usually accompanies the release of the full-length report will be available in PDF format in August, along with a second information campaign to continue to raise public awareness of this increasingly important issue,” concludes Mr. Bard.

The RFR is a tool for change

Regina Lynch, who recently took over as executive president of ACN International, explains that the main purpose of this report is to “motivate people to get involved and help those suffering from religious persecution through prayer, sharing information, speaking up for victims, engaging politicians, and keeping informed about the reality on the ground in different parts of the world.” 

“The ACN Religious Freedom Report seeks only to provide information and analysis about the abuse of this fundamental human right worldwide. It is a tool. The tool is only as good as those who take it up, share it with others, and work to effect change,” says Lynch.

*The report is also available in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and German.