State Newswire News
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Jamaica
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The constitution provides for freedom of religion, including the freedom to worship and to change one’s religion. It prohibits discrimination based on belief. A colonial-era law criminalizing the practices of Obeah and Myalism remains in effect but is not enforced.
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Haiti
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: Haiti’s 1987 constitution provides for the free exercise of all religions. Any religious group seeking official recognition must obtain it through a multistep registration process with the Bureau of Worship (BOW), a unit within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The government has a special relationship...
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Uganda
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The constitution prohibits religious discrimination and stipulates there shall be no state religion. It provides for freedom of belief, the right to practice and promote any religion, and the right to belong to and participate in the practices of any religious organization in a manner consistent with...
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Cote d’Ivoire
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The constitution provides for freedom of religious belief and worship, consistent with law and order, and prohibits religious discrimination. It emphasizes that religious tolerance is fundamental to the nation’s unity, peace, reconciliation, and social cohesion and forbids speech that encourages religious hatred.
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Honduras
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The constitution provides for the free exercise of all religions. Religious organizations may register as legal entities classified as religious associations and thereby acquire tax-exempt status and other government benefits.
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Colombia
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The constitution provides for freedom of religion and the right to profess one’s religious beliefs. It prohibits discrimination based on religion. The Ministry of Interior (MOI) is responsible for formally recognizing churches, religious denominations, religious federations and confederations, and associations of religious ministers.
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Malaysia
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The constitution states, “Islam is the religion of the Federation; but other religions may be practiced in peace and harmony." Federal and state governments have the power to mandate doctrine for Muslims and promote Sunni Islam above all other religious groups. Other forms of Islam are illegal. Sedition...
Secretary Antony J. Blinken On the 2022 Report on International Religious Freedom
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: SECRETARY BLINKEN: Good morning, everyone. Twenty-five years ago, President Clinton signed the International Religious Freedom Act into law. And that gave us a range of new tools to give voice to the persecuted, to empower advocates, to promote religious freedom around the world.
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: China—Tibet
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: China | Hong Kong | Macau | Xinjiang.
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Togo
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The constitution specifies the state is secular and protects the rights of all citizens to exercise their religious beliefs, consistent with the nation’s laws. All religious groups must register as religious associations with the government and apply for authorization to open places of worship with the Directorate of Religious Affairs (DRA) in the Ministry of Territorial Affairs (MTA).
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Timor-Leste
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The constitution provides for freedom of conscience and worship and freedom of religious instruction. There is no official state religion, although Catholicism is the predominant religion. Religious organizations may register with the government under the regulations provided for nonprofit corporate bodies.
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Namibia
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The constitution prohibits religious discrimination and provides for freedom of belief and the right to practice, profess, and promote any religion. The law allows recognition of any religious group as a voluntary association and does not require registration with the government. The constitution allows religious groups to operate private schools so long as school admission is not based on the student’s religion.
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Chad
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: At year’s end, Transitional President Mahamat Déby, who had previously presided over a 15-member transitional military council, led the country. An August-October National Dialogue disbanded the transitional military council (CMT) and on Oct. 10, gave the former CMT president the title of “Transitional...
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Liechtenstein
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The constitution stipulates everyone is free to choose his or her faith. It makes the state responsible for “protecting the religious…interests of the people" and establishes Roman Catholicism as the state religion. The constitution stipulates individuals may practice other religious faiths within the ...
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Guyana
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The constitution provides for freedom of religion and worship, including the right to choose and change one’s religion. The constitution mandates the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) to promote ethnic and religious harmony, and it includes representatives of the country’s main religious traditions, including Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam.
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Belize
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: Executive Summary Title. The constitution provides for freedom of religion, freedom to change one’s religion or belief, and freedom to express one’s religion or belief in worship, teaching, practice, and observance. The constitution prohibits discrimination based on religion. In January, the government...
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Guinea
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The country’s constitutional elected government was overthrown in a military coup d’état in September 2021. The self-proclaimed National Committee for Reconciliation and Development (CNRD) suspended the constitution and dissolved the National Assembly. The CNRD’s Transition Charter, which serves in lieu...
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Georgia
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The constitution prohibits religious persecution and recognizes equality for all regardless of religion, subject to considerations of public safety or health or the rights of others. It stipulates the independence of the Georgian Orthodox Church (GOC) and recognizes the GOC’s “outstanding role" in the country’s history. Laws and policies grant the GOC unique privileges.
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Vanuatu
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The constitution provides for individual freedom of “religious or traditional beliefs," with the preamble to the constitution referring to “traditional Melanesian values, faith in God, and Christian principles." There is no official state religion. The law makes discrimination a crime, including on the...
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Netherlands
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The constitution prohibits religious discrimination and protects the freedom of individuals to profess their religion or belief. It is a crime to engage in public speech inciting religious hatred. The constitution allows the government to restrict the exercise of religious beliefs outside of buildings ...