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Release: The constitution provides for freedom of conscience and the right of all individuals to freely profess, practice, and propagate religion; mandates a secular state; requires the state to treat all religions impartially; and prohibits discrimination based on religion. It also states citizens must practice...

2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Nepal

Release: The constitution establishes the country as a “secular state" but defines secular as the “protection of religion and culture handed down from the time immemorial." It provides for the right of citizens to profess and practice their own religion. The constitution prohibits converting persons from one...

2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Turkmenistan

Release: The constitution establishes the republic as a secular country and provides for the freedom of religion and for 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...

2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Afghanistan

Release: **The United States has not yet decided whether to recognize the Taliban or any other entity as the Government of Afghanistan or as part of such a government. All references to “the pre-August 2021 government" refer to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. References to the Taliban in this report do not...

2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Bhutan

Release: The constitution recognizes Buddhism as the state’s “spiritual heritage," provides for freedom of religion, and bans discrimination based on religious belief. The constitution states religious institutions and personalities shall remain “above politics." The law restricts religious speech and written communication promoting enmity among religious groups and requires religious groups to obtain licenses to hold public religious gatherings.

Assistant Secretary Phee’s Visit to Addis Ababa

Release: Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Molly Phee conducted meetings in Addis Ababa from May 14-16 with the African Union, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the United Nations (UN) and the Government of Ethiopia to consult on regional and international efforts to help end the conflict in Sudan.

2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Bangladesh

Release: The constitution designates Islam as the state religion but upholds the principle of secularism. It prohibits religious discrimination and provides for equality for all religions. Family law, enforced in secular courts, contains separate provisions for different religious groups. On the one-year anniversary...

2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Sudan

Release: In October 2021, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan led a military takeover that ousted Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and his government. Hamdok was briefly reinstated in November 2021 but resigned in January 2022. Burhan served as de facto head of state and government since October 2021 while a cabinet...

2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Vietnam

Release: The constitution states that all individuals have the right to freedom of belief and religion. The law provides for significant government control over religious practices and includes vague provisions that permit restrictions on religious freedom in the stated interest of national security and social unity. For example, the Law on Belief and Religion (LBR) maintains a multistage registration and recognition process for religious groups.

2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Barbados

Release: The constitution and other laws provide for freedom of religion, including the freedom to change one’s religion, and it prohibits discrimination based on religious belief. By law, the government does not require religious groups to register and grants religious groups the right to establish and maintain private schools and provide religious instruction.

2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Seychelles

Release: The constitution prohibits discrimination on any grounds and forbids any laws establishing any religion or imposing any religious observance. It provides for freedom of religion, including the right of individuals to change, manifest, and propagate their religion.

2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Democratic Republic of the Congo

Release: The constitution states that the country is secular, prohibits religious discrimination, provides for freedom of religion or belief, bans the use of religion for political ends, and stipulates that impositions on freedom of conscience stemming from “religious fanaticism" shall be punishable by law.

2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Kenya

Release: The constitution stipulates there shall be no state religion and prohibits religious discrimination. The constitution provides for freedom of religion and belief individually or in communities, including the freedom to manifest any religion through worship, practice, teaching, or observance and to debate religious questions. The constitution further provides for special qadi courts to adjudicate certain types of civil cases based on Islamic law.

2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Cambodia

Release: The constitution states Buddhism is the state religion. The law provides for freedom of belief and religious worship, provided such freedom neither interferes with others’ beliefs and religions nor violates public order and security. The law does not allow non-Buddhist denominations to proselytize publicly. A government directive restricts monks from participating in political protests and requires them to be politically neutral.

2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Burma

Release: Note. In 2021, the military overthrew the democratically elected civilian government, declaring a state of emergency and creating a State Administration Council, a military-run administrative organization led by armed forces Commander in Chief (CINC) Min Aung Hlaing that assumed executive, legislative,...

2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Grenada

Release: The constitution protects freedom of conscience, including freedom of thought and religion. The criminal code prohibits the publication and sale of blasphemous language; however, the code is not enforced.

2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Chile

Release: The constitution provides for freedom of conscience and worship. Religion and state are separate. The law prohibits religious discrimination and provides civil remedies to victims of discrimination. The National Office of Religious Affairs (ONAR) is charged with facilitating communication between faith communities and the government and ensuring the protection of the rights of members of minority religious groups.

2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Laos

Release: The constitution provides citizens with “the right and freedom to believe or not to believe in religion." The government officially recognizes four religions: Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, and the Baha’i Faith, with Buddhism paramount. Decree 315, rather than law, sets forth rules for religious practice and minimum land requirements for building houses of worship and defines the government as the final arbiter of permissible religious activities.

2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Tonga