Religious persecution

The Latest

Taliban fighters gather along a street during a rally in Kabul on August 31, 2021 as they celebrate after the U.S. pulled all its troops out of the country to end a brutal 20-year war.

Afghan Christian’s plea to CNA: ‘You are my last hope’

Sep 8, 2021

By Shannon Mullen

An Afghan Christian's desperate email to CNA triggered a painstaking effort to try to help him escape the Taliban's wrath.... Read more

Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York

Cardinal Dolan emphasizes hope amid global religious persecution

Jul 16, 2021

By Christine Rousselle

There is reason for hope for global religious freedom, Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York told an international gathering of... Read more

Chinese Civil Rights Activist Chen Guangcheng, featured here at a talk at Catholic University of America, will speak at the IRF event July 13-15.

Charter ahead of international summit affirms religious freedom "for Everyone, Everywhere, All the Time"

Jun 29, 2021

By Alejandro Bermudez

Ahead of the International Religious Freedom Summit 2021 (IRF Summit), co-chairs Samuel Brownback and Katrina Lantos Swett, along with the... Read more

Legislators urge Biden to address global religious persecution

May 6, 2021

A bipartisan group of members of Congress asked President Biden this week to prioritize responding to global religious persecution. Read more

Cathedral of the Sacred Heart the main Catholic church of Dali, Yunnan, China.

China continued religious crackdown during renewal of Vatican deal

Oct 26, 2020

The Chinese government continued to enforce sweeping restrictions on religious freedom in the weeks prior to the renewal of an agreement with... Read more

Flag of India.

Report finds hate crimes rising against Indian Christians despite lockdown

Jul 31, 2020

Hate crimes against Christians in India increased by 40% in the first half of 2020 despite a three-month nationwide lockdown,... Read more

US Ambassador for Religious Freedom Sam Brownback.

Brownback points to Nigeria, China and global spread of religious persecution

Feb 28, 2020

By Christine Rousselle

U.S. Ambassador at Large for Religious Freedom Sam Brownback has warned that religious persecution is spreading worldwide, and highlighted the... Read more

US President Donald Trump at General Assembly Hall, 2017.

Attacks on religious communities 'a wound on all humanity' Trump tells UN

Sep 23, 2019

By Matt Hadro

President Donald Trump joined world leaders to speak out against religious persecution at a Global Call to Protect Religious Freedom at... Read more

Christian families displaced by violence in India in 2008.

In eastern India, radicals expel ten Christian families

Jul 5, 2018

Several Christian families have been assaulted and expelled from their village by local extremists for refusing to renounce their faith,... Read more

Coptic Christian boy lights a candle at a church in Cairo.

Cardinal: To ensure religious freedom, minorities must be protected at home

Jun 25, 2018

By Elise Harris

With religious persecution on the rise in many parts of the world, Church leaders and diplomats called for legal and... Read more

Coptic Christian boy lights a candle at a church in Cairo.

Study finds mounting global restrictions on religion

Jun 21, 2018

Government restrictions on religion continued to rise across the globe in 2016, according to a recently released Pew study, which... Read more

Why a spike in religious hate crimes should worry all of us

May 3, 2017

By Matt Hadro

Civic and religious leaders this week addressed a disturbing rise in religious hate crimes in recent years, especially harassment and... Read more

Why Russia's new ban on Jehovah's Witnesses is so troubling

Apr 21, 2017

By Kevin J. Jones

The Jehovah's Witnesses have been banned as an extremist group in a Thursday Supreme Court decision that observers feared signaled... Read more

Cross of the Martyrs.

Study finds religious persecution spread to more countries in 2015

Apr 15, 2017

By Matt Hadro

Global religious persecution spiked from 2014 to 2015, the Pew Research Center noted in a new report released this week.  Read more

A priest, a rabbi, and an imam walk into a website

Feb 15, 2015

By Mary Farrow

It is hard to ignore the fact that religious intolerance has reached a boiling point the world over in the... Read more

Flag of China.

From bad to worse – religious persecution growing in China

Oct 17, 2014

By Matt Hadro

The state of religious freedom in China is moving from bad to worse, said U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), responding... Read more

Father Gjergj Simoni speaks with CNA in Tirana, Albania on Sept, 21, 2014.

A delayed desire: Albanian priest waited decades for ordination

Sep 22, 2014

By Andrea Gagliarducci

An Albanian Catholic priest shared his story of encountering persecution for his faith by the country's repressive state atheism, noting... Read more

A family at the Khazair checkpoint after fleeing from Mosul, Iraq on June 11, 2014.

Bishops' charge to US government: help Iraqi Christians

Jul 30, 2014

The U.S. bishops have urged the U.S. government to assist Iraqi Christian victims of persecution, while France has offered asylum... Read more

United Nations Headquarters in New York City.

Petition calls on UN to stop Christian genocide in Iraq

Jul 29, 2014

Following the expulsion of Christians from the Iraqi city of Mosul by ISIS jihadists, a new petition calls on the... Read more

Cardinal John Onaiyekan, Archbishop of Abuja, Nigeria.

Dozens killed in attacks on Nigeria's Christian villages

Jan 30, 2014

At least 99 people were reportedly left dead after attacks on two Christian villages in northeast Nigeria this week, suspected... Read more