The 12 countries with the worst religious freedom conditions

The US State Department released its annual report on the status of international religious freedom in late June, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken saying the report “advances our vision for a future where everyone is able to choose and practice their beliefs, including the right not to believe or ascribe to a faith.”

The report, submitted annually to Congress in compliance with the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act, covers the period between January 1 and December 31, 2023.

The latest report designates 12 countries – Burma (Myanmar), the People’s Republic of China, Cuba, North Korea, Eritrea, Iran, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan – as Countries of Particular Concern (CPC). That designation indicates that a nation has engaged in or tolerated “particularly severe violations of religious freedom.” 

Some observers said that one country should have been added to the list – Nigeria.

Here are some of the main reasons why the 12 countries have been designated CPCs, with a link to the country's section in the report:

The constitution of Myanmar, which the State Department refers to as "Burma," guarantees “the right to freely profess and practice religion subject to public order, morality, or health and to the other provisions of this constitution.” 

But reports emerged in 2023 of threats, detentions, and violence targeting minority religious and ethnoreligious groups.

While the constitution of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) says that citizens “enjoy freedom of religious belief,” only religious groups belonging to one of the five state-sanctioned “patriotic religious associations” representing official religions are permitted to hold worship services. [Photo above shows an Easter Vigil service in Beijing this year.]

Regulations require clergy to pledge allegiance to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and socialism and to “resist illegal religious activities and religious extremist ideology, and resist infiltration by foreign forces using religion.”

On September 1, 2023, new administrative measures took effect requiring monasteries, churches, mosques, temples, and other “places of religious activity” to uphold the leadership of the CCP, implement “Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics,” and promote the “Sinicization” of religion. The measures also stipulate that the content of sermons should both reflect “socialist core values” and be integrated with “traditional Chinese culture.”

Some media and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) reported that despite a provisional agreement on the appointment of bishops between the Holy See and the Chinese government, the government continued to harass, detain, disappear, arrest, imprison, and in some cases defrock Catholic priests who did not join the state-sanctioned Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association.

The constitution of Cuba contains provisions for religious freedom and prohibits discrimination based on religious grounds; however, provisions in the penal and administrative codes contravene these protections. The constitution declares the country a secular state and provides for the separation of religious institutions and the state, but the Cuban Communist Party, through its Office of Religious Affairs and the Ministry of Justice (MOJ), regulates religious practice. The law requires all religious groups to apply to the MOJ for official registration. 

Many religious groups continued to state that despite constitutional provisions for freedom of conscience and religion and prohibiting discrimination based on religion, the government used threats, detentions, violence, and other coercive tactics to restrict the activities of some religious groups, leaders, and followers, including the right of prisoners to practice religion freely. Sources cited constant government surveillance, intimidation, and interrogation of priests who spoke out on human rights, as well as government pressure on Catholic leadership to silence outspoken priests.

The constitution of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea provides for freedom of religious belief. But a 2022 UN Secretary-General report found that “the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion … continues to be denied, with no alternative belief systems tolerated by the authorities.” 

The State Department’s religious freedom report said: “Multiple sources indicated the situation had not fundamentally changed since publication of the 2014 UN Commission of Inquiry (COI) report on human rights in the DPRK, which found that authorities almost completely denied the rights to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion and determined the government in many instances committed violations of human rights that constituted crimes against humanity. The government reportedly continued to execute, torture, arrest, and physically abuse individuals for their religious activities.”

The law and constitution of Eritrea, which remains unimplemented, prohibit religiously motivated discrimination and provide for freedom of thought, conscience, and belief, as well as the freedom to practice any religion. The government recognizes four officially registered religious groups: the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Sunni Islam, the Catholic Church, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Eritrea.

But in 2023, the report says, the Eritrean government arrested individuals based on religion. The Christian NGO Release International reported the arrest of 177 members of unregistered Christian groups between January and April as they gathered in private homes to worship or record worship music. In July, the Christian NGO Voice of the Martyrs Canada reported that two pastors remained in detention without charges since 2004. There was no information on the conditions under which these detainees were being held, or on the charges against them, if any. NGOs said that in the past, authorities kept some Christian detainees in shipping containers and beat and tortured them to try to force them to renounce their faith.

The government continued to run formerly Catholic-, Orthodox-, and Muslim-owned schools that were confiscated under Proclamation 73/1995’s ban on religious institutions providing social services including education.

The constitution of Iran defines the country as an Islamic republic and specifies Twelver Ja’afari Shia Islam as the official state religion. It states all laws and regulations must be based on “Islamic criteria” and an official interpretation of sharia. The constitution states citizens shall enjoy human, political, economic, and other rights, “in conformity with Islamic criteria.” The penal code provides for punishments mandated by sharia, including amputation, flogging, and stoning. It specifies the death penalty for moharebeh (“enmity against God”) and sabb al-nabi (“insulting the Prophet”). Proselytization of religions other than Islam carries a punishment of up to 10 years in prison.

The constitution of Nicaragua prohibits discrimination based on religion; provides for freedom of belief, religion, and worship; and states no one “shall be obligated by coercive measures to declare his or her ideology or beliefs.”

But according to multiple media reports, NGOs, and international organizations, the government accelerated its attacks on the Catholic Church and evangelical Christian groups. Throughout the year, police arrested 27 Catholic priests and two Catholic seminarians, detained many other Catholic priests for short periods of time for interrogation purposes, and expelled from the country 18 Nicaraguan and three foreign-national priests.

In February, a judge sentenced Bishop Rolando Alvarez, without trial, to 26 years in prison and revoked his citizenship for committing treason and cybercrimes. The same month, the government exiled 222 political prisoners who had been accepted for humanitarian parole into the United States, including six Catholic priests and five others affiliated with the Catholic Church. After the former political prisoners arrived in the United States, the Managua Court of Appeals declared those individuals “traitors” and declared the government had stripped them of their citizenship.

Also in February, an appeals court declared an additional 94 Nicaraguan nationals – including 10 Catholic priests – “traitors” for committing “conspiracy to undermine national integrity” and “spreading false news,” stripping them of their citizenship and ordering the confiscation of their property.

In March, the Holy See closed its nunciature in Managua after the Nicaraguan government “suspended” diplomatic relations in response to Pope Francis comparing the Ortega administration to the Nazi dictatorship of Hitler.

In April, President Daniel Ortega called the country’s Catholic hierarchy “bishops of Satan.” In August, the government closed the Jesuit-operated Central American University (UCA), alleging it was a center of terrorism.

Follow coverage of Nicaragua here.

The constitution of Pakistan establishes Islam as the state religion and requires all provisions of the law to be consistent with Islam. The constitution states, “Subject to law, public order, and morality, every citizen shall have the right to profess, practice, and propagate his religion.” The penal code sets punishments for blasphemy that range from 10 years in prison to the death penalty, although the government has never executed anyone for blasphemy.

According to media reports, police at times killed or physically abused members of religious minorities or failed to protect individuals from violence linked to religion. Frequently, police accused of abuses were lightly sanctioned or not punished at all. In one case, police failed to protect a detainee facing blasphemy charges in Punjab’s Nankana Sahib district; a mob stormed a police station and lynched him on February 11.

The constitution of Russia declares the state is secular and guarantees freedom of religion, equal rights irrespective of religious belief, and the right to worship and profess one’s religion. The law states government officials may prohibit the activity of a religious association for violating public order or engaging in “extremist activity.” The law allows the government to criminalize a broad spectrum of activities as extremist but does not precisely define extremism. A law enacted in 2022 authorizes creation of a confidential database of materials defined as extremist and a “unified register” of individuals in organizations defined as terrorist or extremist. Another 2022 law requires certain organizations, including religious groups and individuals, to publicly identify themselves as foreign agents, which critics say is intended to discredit them. The law identifies Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Buddhism as the country’s four “traditional” religions and recognizes the special role of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC).

Russia’s war on Ukraine has surfaced many religious freedom issues, especially in Ukrainian territory occupied by Russian forces. In those places, Russia has denied the right to worship for members of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Ukrainian Greek Catholics, Crimean Tatar Muslims, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Evangelicals, Baptists and others. 

According to the 1992 Basic Law of Governance, Saudi Arabia’s official religion is Islam, and the constitution is the Quran and Sunna (traditions and practices based on the life of the Prophet Muhammad). The legal system is based largely on sharia as interpreted by the Hanbali school of Sunni Islamic jurisprudence. Freedom of religion is not provided for under the law. The law criminalizes “anyone who challenges, either directly or indirectly, the religion or justice of the King or Crown Prince.” The law prohibits “the promotion of atheistic ideologies in any form,” “any attempt to cast doubt on the fundamentals of Islam,” publications that “contradict the provisions of Islamic law,” and other acts, including non-Islamic public worship, public display of non-Islamic religious symbols, conversion by a Muslim to another religion, and proselytizing by a non-Muslim.

In March, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, Archbishop of Vienna, visited Saudi Arabia at the invitation of the Muslim World League (MWL) and met with senior officials, including MWL Secretary-General Mohammad bin Abdulkarim al-Issa, Minister of Islamic Affairs al-Sheikh and Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Waleed El Khereiji. According to press reports, Cardinal Schönborn discussed efforts to build bridges of cooperation and effective communication among leaders in confronting hatred and “extremist” ideas.

The constitution of Tajikistan provides for the right, individually or jointly with others, to adhere to any religion or to no religion and to participate in religious customs and ceremonies. The constitution states, “Religious associations shall be separate from the state and shall not interfere in state affairs.” The law restricts Islamic prayer to specific locations, regulates the registration and location of mosques, and prohibits persons younger than 18 from participating in public religious activities. The government’s Committee on Religion, Regulation of Traditions, Celebrations, and Ceremonies (CRA) maintains a broad mandate that includes approving registration of religious associations, construction of houses of worship, participation of children in religious education, and the dissemination of religious literature. The government maintains a list of banned extremist organizations.

Law enforcement agencies continued to arrest and detain individuals suspected of membership in, or of supporting, prohibited groups. 

The constitution of Turkmenistan establishes the republic as a secular country and provides for freedom of religion and the right of individuals to choose their religion, express and disseminate their religious beliefs, and participate in religious observances and ceremonies. The constitution separates the roles of government and religion and stipulates that religious organizations are prohibited from “interference” in state affairs. The constitution provides for the equality of citizens before the law, regardless of their religious preference.

Opposition media outlets reported on August 30 that Russia deported Turkmen citizen Ashyrbay Bekiyev to Turkmenistan for violation of Russian migration laws. Media outlets further reported that the Dashoguz regional court sentenced Bekiyev to 23 years in prison on “trumped-up charges” of Islamic extremism. Jehovah’s Witnesses reported 14 cases of security officers detaining their members, summoning them to appear at law enforcement agencies, questioning them for a few hours, then releasing them. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Turkmenistan Service reported that police in the Balkan Province raided the homes of Muslims in mid-August and seized religious literature.

In its 2023 annual report, the Christian NGO Open Doors noted, “Christians from a Muslim background come under pressure both from the state and from their family and community, who may subject them to house arrest, forced marriage and beatings to try to force them to return to Islam.” Open Doors further reported that “Christian converts from a Muslim background are most vulnerable to persecution, especially in rural areas. They are likely to experience pressure and occasionally physical violence from their families, friends and local community to force them to return to Islam. Some converts are locked up by their families for long periods, beaten and may eventually be expelled from their communities. Local imams preach against them, adding pressure. As a result, converts will do their best to hide their faith – they become secret believers.”

Some religious groups reported an increase in what one Catholic leader said was “religious curiosity” – a wider interest in the country in religious issues over the previous 30 years. The leader said the change in attitude towards religion came from people who were curious about Christianity and others who were looking to re-establish ties with their familial ancestors who were religious. The religious leaders stated they did not proselytize, but rather opened their doors to all people.

In addition to these countries, the report designated Algeria, Azerbaijan, the Central African Republic, Comoros, and Vietnam as Special Watch List countries for engaging in or tolerating severe violations of religious freedom. It also designated al-Shabab, Boko Haram, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Houthis, ISIS-Sahel, ISIS-West Africa, al-Qa’ida affiliate Jamaat Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin, and the Taliban as Entities of Particular Concern.

But on none of these lists is Nigeria, and a significant number of people, including Nigerians, continue to ask why. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an independent, bipartisan U.S. federal government agency created by the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act, has pointed out that Nigeria has repeatedly met the legal standard for the designation.