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2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Argentina
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The constitution and laws provide for freedom of religion and the right to profess freely one’s faith. The constitution grants the Roman Catholic Church preferential legal status, but there is no official state religion.
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The constitution provides for freedom of religion, including the freedom of individuals to change their religion. Religious organizations may register as nonprofit religious institutions with the government or register as corporations, the latter option requiring an application to parliament.
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Guatemala
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The constitution provides for freedom of religion, including freedom of worship and the free expression of all beliefs. The constitution recognizes the distinct legal personality of the Roman Catholic Church. Non-Catholic religious groups must register with the Ministry of Interior to enter into contracts or receive tax-exempt status, after following a process involving several steps that could take up to two years and cost approximately 10,000 quetzals ($1,300).
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Papua New Guinea
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The constitution provides for freedom of conscience, thought, and religion and the right to practice religion freely, except where that practice infringes on another person’s rights or where it violates public laws, safety, and the welfare of marginalized groups.
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Philippines
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The constitution provides for the free exercise of religion and religious worship and prohibits the establishment of a state religion. The law treats intentional attacks directed against religiously affiliated buildings or facilities as war crimes or crimes against international humanitarian law.
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Angola
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The constitution defines the state as secular, prohibits religious discrimination, and provides for freedom of conscience, religion, and worship. The constitution requires the state to protect churches and religious groups as long as they comply with the law. The law increases the penalties for crimes...
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Panama
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The constitution, laws, and executive decrees provide for freedom of religion and worship and prohibit discrimination based on religion. The constitution recognizes Catholicism as the religion of the majority of citizens and requires Roman Catholic instruction in public schools, with exemptions allowed.
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...