Religious Freedom Continues to Decline Worldwide, According to a Report

A report has indicated that religious freedom continues to decline globally, with increasing "serious violations" affecting now "two-thirds" of the world's population in 2023 and 2024, as warned by a Catholic association, condemning the use of artificial intelligence as a tool for repression.

"More than 5.4 billion people, nearly two-thirds of humanity," living in 62 countries face religious persecution or discrimination, a significant increase, according to a report from Aid to the Church in Need (AED), an organization approved by the Holy See.

"Religious freedom is often the poor relation of fundamental rights," lamented Olivier Poquillon, a Dominican religious and director of the French Biblical and Archaeological School of Jerusalem, during a press conference.

Since 1999, AED has published a report every two years, the only one conducted by an NGO covering all religions, on religious freedom worldwide.

This report categorizes 196 countries into three groups: "persecution," "discrimination," and "under observation."

The "persecution" category, characterized by acts of severe violence or harassment, affects 24 countries, including the two most populous, India and China.

China and North Korea stand out for their use of AI to "more easily track religious minorities," said Amélie Berthelin, a member of AED and contributor to the report.

"In countries like China, North Korea, and Pakistan, both governments and non-state actors deploy digital tools to censor, intimidate, and criminalize believers, transforming religious faith into a perceived security threat," the report notes.

Thirty-eight countries, including Turkey, Egypt, and Vietnam, are classified as "discrimination," marked by significant injustices against certain religious groups.

AFP