More than 5.4 billion people globally could face persecution and discrimination for their beliefs, according to Religious Freedom in the World, a new report from Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), launched last month in the Houses of Parliament.
The charity has called for fresh action by the UK Government and the United Nations to uphold Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which asserts the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
The report highlights grave violations of religious freedom in 62 countries: 24 classified as “persecution” (the worst category) and 36 as “discrimination” (the second most serious category).
Chairing the meeting, Brendan O'Hara MP said: “We cannot allow the issue of freedom of religion or belief to be ghettoized, or hived off, or something which is deemed too complicated or uniquely challenging…
“Freedom of religion or belief is a fundamental, inalienable human right, and it has to be treated and seen as such.”
The report focuses on how religious persecution increasingly fuels forced migration and displacement: “In Nigeria, attacks by radicalised Fulani militants have ravaged churches, villages and clergy, triggering mass displacement…
“Religious persecution is a major and often overlooked driver of today’s global displacement crisis.”
Speaking at the event, Bishop John Bakeni of the Diocese of Maiduguri in north-eastern Nigeria gave a powerful testimony of his personal experience of religious violence in Nigeria:
“Since 2009, the Boko Haram Islamist militant group in allegiance with Daesh extremists in Iraq and Syria, now ISWAP, has inflicted mass terror on civilians, killing over 40,000 Nigerians, kidnapping thousands and displacing over 2 million people from their ancestral homes…
“Whilst the conflict is not solely about religion, it is equally simplistic not to see the religious dimension as a significantly exacerbating factor, especially as churches, priests and other potent symbols of Christianity are attacked, seemingly with impunity.”
John Pontifex, Head of Press and Public Affairs at ACN, spoke of his own experience: “I was in the North Central middle belt of Nigeria only in the spring and I was privileged enough to see and meet so many individuals, and families, and communities, and church leaders who are wrestling, grappling with this terrible situation of persecution…
“I saw the impact of the threat, the religious extremism has had on individuals and families different from their homes, their farmlands, and driven from their home communities.”
The report draws attention to how anti-Christian incidents are on the rise, not just in the Global South but also across Europe and North America.
It claims there has been a significant rise in attacks against Christian sites and believers, with France recording approximately 1,000 anti-Christian incidents in 2023, while Greece reported more than 600 cases of church vandalism.
The report also states that authoritarianism is the greatest threat to religious freedom, with regimes systematically enforcing “legal and bureaucratic mechanisms to suppress religious life”.
Speaking exclusively to The Catholic Herald, Sir Edward Leigh MP, Father of the House, praised ACN’s work and called for parliamentary action:
“I support Aid to the Church in Need and everything they do and their marvellous work on behalf of persecuted Christians worldwide. This is something that we should promote in Parliament to ensure that government fully enforces Article 18 of the Declaration of Human Rights… which will be a powerful weapon to protect persecuted minorities around the world.”
The full report is available here: https://acninternational.org/religiousfreedomreport/
