Nonpartisan Pew Research Center data reveals that government restrictions on religion and social hostilities involving religion – including violence and harassment by private individuals, organizations, or groups, is increasing around the world.  Christians in Nigeria, Rohingya in Myanmar, Yazidis in Iraq, Uyghur in China-entire communities across the globe are persecuted based on their religion or beliefs. Given this rising trend, have you …

In February of 2018, Boko Haram insurgents abducted 110 students from a girls’ boarding school in Dapchi, Yobe state, Nigeria. Five students were killed while being held captive and four weeks after the abduction, 104 of the girls were released. One student, 14-year old Leah Sharibu, did not return and is still held captive because of her refusal to renounce …

Turkish forces launched a bombing campaign across northeastern Syria on Wednesday, targeting civilian areas and killing Syriac Christians. The bombing campaign, launched less than 48 hours after a phone call between President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, appeared to target Christian and Kurdish enclaves in the cities of Qameshli, Kobani, and others. Shelling also hit the border …

Christians and other minority faiths suffer worldwide. Believers are targeted by extremist groups, social hostilities, and government oppression. Collectively more people are persecuted for their faith than any time ever. 215 million Christians experience high levels of persecution globally – which is 1 in 12 (Open Doors World Watch List). 83% of people live in a place with high or …

The Chinese government is engaged in cultural genocide. Xinjiang, in northwest China, is home to 22 million people with an estimated 13 million Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities residing in the region. At least one million Uyghurs are being held in counter-extremism centers and another two million Uyghurs and Turkic Muslim minorities have been forced into “education camps” for political …

Religious and ethnic minorities in Iraq are living at the edge of extinction. They are marginalized and under threat from the genocidal actions of the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq resulting in the purging of religious and ethnic minorities from their historic homes. If immediate action is not taken, the existence of religious and ethnic minority communities such as Christians …

The United States recently convened the second Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom, the  largest human rights gathering ever held at the State Department. Government, religious and civil society leaders from 106 countries discussed challenges facing religious freedom, and identified means to address religious persecution and discrimination worldwide. The diverse group focused on concrete outcomes  that reaffirm international commitments to promote …

As millions of Americans celebrate July 4th, let us not forget freedoms that are under attack in other countries. Specifically, Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states, “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others …