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2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: South Africa
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The constitution provides for freedom of religion and belief and prohibits discrimination on the basis of religion. The government does not require religious groups to register; however, registered groups receive tax-exempt status.
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Mauritania
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The constitution defines the country as an Islamic republic and designates Islam as the sole religion of the citizenry and state. The law prohibits blasphemy and apostasy and defines them as crimes punishable by death; however, the government has never applied the death penalty for these crimes.
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: China—Hong Kong
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), as well as other laws and policies, states that residents have freedom of conscience, freedom of religious belief, and freedom to preach, conduct, and participate in religious activities in public. The Bill of Rights Ordinance incorporates...
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Tuvalu
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The constitution provides for the freedom to change religion or belief and the freedom to show and spread religious belief through worship, teaching, observance, or practice. The law designates the Ekalesia A Kelisiano Tuvalu (Congregational Christian Church of Tuvalu, or EKT) as the state church and...
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Indonesia
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The constitution provides a guarantee of freedom of religion and the right to worship according to one’s own beliefs, but it states that citizens must accept restrictions established by law to protect the rights of others and to satisfy “just demands based upon considerations of morality, religious values,...
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Singapore
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The constitution, laws, and policies provide for religious freedom, subject to restrictions relating to public order, public health, and morality. The constitution requires the government to protect the interests of Malays as “the Indigenous people of Singapore," including religious interests. The government...
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: The Gambia
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The constitution provides for the freedom of religious choice as long as it does not impinge on the rights of others or the national interest. The constitution prohibits religious discrimination, establishment of a state religion, and formation of political parties based on religious affiliation.
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Fiji
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The constitution establishes a secular state and protects freedom of religion, conscience, and belief. It also mandates the separation of religion and state. The constitution prohibits discrimination based on religious affiliation, and laws make inciting hatred or “disaffection" against any religious group a criminal offense. Religious groups must register with the government.
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Zimbabwe
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The constitution prohibits religious discrimination and provides for freedom of religion, including the freedom to practice, propagate, and give expression to one’s religion, in public or in private and alone or with others. The criminal code prohibits statements that are “insulting" or “grossly provocative"...
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: China—Xinjiang
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The constitution of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), which cites the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), states that citizens “enjoy freedom of religious belief" but limits protections for religious practice to “normal religious activities," without defining “normal." National regulations...
Deputy Secretary Sherman’s Meeting with Brazilian Secretary General da Rocha
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The below is attributable to Spokesperson Matthew Miller.
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Mongolia
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The constitution provides for freedom of conscience and religion, prohibits discrimination based on religion, and mandates the separation of the activities of state and religious institutions. The law requires religious institutions to register with authorities but provides little detail on registration procedures, leaving local authorities to decide most of the specifics of implementation. The law prohibits hindering the free exercise of faith but limits proselytization.
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Nigeria
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The constitution bars the federal and state governments from adopting a state religion, prohibits religious discrimination, and provides for individuals’ freedom to choose, practice, propagate, or change their religion. The constitution provides for states to establish courts based on sharia or customary...
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Eritrea
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The law and unimplemented constitution prohibit religiously motivated discrimination and provide for freedom of thought, conscience, and belief, as well as the freedom to practice any religion. The government recognizes four officially registered religious groups: the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Sunni Islam, the Catholic Church, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Eritrea.
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Ethiopia
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The country is a secular state; the constitution requires the separation of religion and the state, establishes freedom of religious choice and practice, prohibits religious discrimination, and stipulates the government shall not interfere in the practice of any religion, nor shall any religion interfere in the affairs of the state.
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Mauritius
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The constitution prohibits discrimination based on creed and provides for the right of individuals to change, manifest, and propagate their religious beliefs. The government recognizes seven groups as religions: Hindus, Roman Catholics, Muslims, Anglicans, Presbyterians, Seventh-day Adventists, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Church of Jesus Christ). Other religious groups must register as associations.
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: China—Macau
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The Basic Law of the Macau Special Administrative Region (SAR) grants residents freedom of religious belief, freedom to preach and participate in religious activities in public, and freedom to pursue religious education. These rights may be limited in extraordinary situations for national security reasons.
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Japan
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The constitution provides for freedom of religion and prohibits religious organizations from exercising any political authority or receiving privileges from the state. According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs (ACA), there are approximately 180,000 registered religious organizations with corporate status that received government tax benefits.
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Canada
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The constitution guarantees freedom of conscience, religion, thought, belief, opinion, expression, and the right to equal protection and benefit of the law without discrimination based on religion. The federal government does not require religious groups to register, but some registered groups may receive tax-exempt status.
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom:
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: Executive Summary Title. The constitution grants individuals the right to choose, practice, and change religions; it prohibits discrimination based on religion. The constitution also states secular ethics are the basis for public service and the legal system. The law requires all religious groups to...