Of these sixty-two countries, genuine persecution takes place in twenty-six and discrimination in the remaining thirty-six. In addition, twenty-four more countries are under surveillance as they have experienced religious hate crimes and acts of vandalism.

The perpetrators of violations of religious freedom are most often international jihadist networks, spreading in countries around the equator and striving to create intercontinental caliphates, as well as Islamic terrorists equipped with modern digital technologies used to carry out attacks.

In addition, religious freedom is broken by authoritarian governments and fundamentalist groups, which have intensified religious persecution, as evidenced by the development of nationalist and religious movements in Asian countries with a majority of Hindu and Buddhist.

Their weapons against religious minorities are sexual violence, as well as violence against girls and women who are kidnapped, raped and forced to change their faith. They use repressive technologies to monitor groups of the faithful. According to the report, the abolition of religious education in schools, especially in the West, fosters radicalisation and weakens inter-religious understanding among young people.

The same can be said about the so-called polite persecution related to new “laws” and cultural norms that relegate religion to the private sphere of human life. These norms, sanctioned by law, place the individual’s rights to freedom of conscience and religious freedom in deep conflict with the legal obligation to uphold these new norms.

Source: pch24.pl