RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN THE WORLD REPORT 2025

The new ‘Aid to the Church in Need’ report lays bare extent of attacks on religious freedom around the world. The annual report had its Irish launch in Dublin recently and shows that 5.4 billion people live in countries where anti-religious persecution takes place. Some of this can result in martyrdom but what is without doubt is that Christians are the most widely persecuted religious group in the world. In the West, the late Pope Francis described a “polite persecution” taking place whereby religious believers are often marginalised, pushed out of public life, and sometimes mocked and ridiculed. In some cases physical attacks occur.

Below are the opening remarks by Brandon Scott, Communications Officer for Aid to the Church in Need Ireland at the launch of 'Religious Freedom in the World' report for 2025. You can also find the report below and an interview with Michael Kelly, Director of Public Affairs of Aid to the Church in Need.

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TO READ THE SUMMARY REPORT, CLICK HERE:

RFR+2025+Executive+Summary.pdf

Opening remarks by Brandon Scott, Communications Officer, Aid to the Church in Need Ireland at the launch of 'Religious Freedom in the World' report for 2025

I think the most appropriate way to start this speech is to home in on the concept of religious freedom, especially its definition and what basis, legal and ethical, it has in the world today. Contrary to what a lot of people of faith discern as the prevailing narrative, religious freedom is not some vague concept selectively summoned in a bid to resist the ever-evolving values of the secular world. It is a legitimate and necessary principle that ensures that religious adherents, regardless of persuasion, have the unconditional ability to practise their faith without hindrance or opposition.

The right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion - protected under Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights - a foundational right, is becoming increasingly compromised, and in some cases, disappearing. This trend is no more evident than in the latest analysis of the present state of religious freedom in the world, conducted by ourselves in ACN which regrettably, by any reasonable metric, underscores that this most fundamental of rights is in increasing peril.

As a charity set up in 1947 to explicitly protect the human rights of Catholics around the world, our mission has been a long a fruitful one. We have fanned the flame of faith and provided glimpses of hope to desperate Catholics in some of the most horrendous circumstances around the world. Underpinned by the convictions reflected in our mission, our motto is clear: Religious freedom for all is not a privilege, but a fundamental human right. Inspired by the prophetic words of St Pope John Paul II, we see respect for religious freedom as being the “litmus test for the respect of all other human rights in a given country”.

History has repeatedly demonstrated that where this right is denied or suppressed, oppression usually follows, and often, this usually emerges in the form of authoritarian governments, extremism, ethno-religious nationalism, organised crime, and legalised intolerance.

Our Religious Freedom in the World Report has been a staple of our mission since it was first published all the way back in 1999. With the publication of this new report, we have renewed our unique distinction of being the only charity to produce a comprehensive analysis of religious freedom’s status in the world for all religions in a total of 196 countries. Our most recent findings paint a pretty bleak picture when assessing the present health of religious freedom in the world.

ACN found that statistically, over 5.4 billion people, accounting for 64.7% of the world’s population, are subjected to religious freedom violations around the world. These violations can be all-encompassing and manifest in a variety of disempowering ways, including discrimination, persecution, and in really extreme cases, death. One consistent finding that emerged throughout our latest research was the worsening state of religious freedom generally around the world. Worryingly, in total, serious violations of religious freedom occur in 62 out of the 196 countries covered.

Of these, 24 are classified as countries of active persecution, and affect more than 4.1 billion people in nations such as China, India, Nigeria, and North Korea.  In China, the Uyghur Muslim community are regularly subjected to severe human rights abuses, with ongoing surveillance and social marginalisation usually the two tactics employed to exert control over the minority religious community.

38 are classified as countries where discrimination routinely takes place. This affects more than 1.3 billion people - 17.3% of the world’s population in countries such Egypt, Ethiopia, Mexico, Turkey and Vietnam. Quite incredibly we found that during the reporting period, only two of these 196 countries – Kazakhstan and Sri Lanka – showed any sign of material improvement.

The continent of Africa, one of the most gravely affected regions of the world, has seen a relentless rise in Jihadism, a militant Islamist ideology, with Christians facing mass displacement, famine, the destruction of churches, and even massacres, simply because of their belief in Christ. This persecution is ongoing. It is not a relic of the past. Vibrant and life-giving parishes are torn apart, deserted, obliterated, because the governments in power lack the capacity to deal with these militant group’s lethal combination of sophistication and brutality. This leaves desperate Christians traumatised and their senses heightened to the terrifying possibility of attacks at any hour of the day.

In northern Nigeria, one of the hotspots of anti-Christian persecution, heinous attacks by armed groups linked to radicalised Fulani herders have left thousands dead and entire communities uprooted. In the Sahel - especially in Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali - whole villages have been destroyed by Islamist militias. In Sudan, civil war has wiped centuries-old Christian communities off the map.

Remarkably, we’ve entered a period where even the wonders of innovation are now being harnessed to instil fear and strip rights. Noted in this report is the growing trend in technological advancements being weaponised to marginalise religious communities in countries such as China, Eritrea, Iran and Nicaragua. In these countries, the government represses religion by using sophisticated methods, including pervasive surveillance, restrictive legislation, and the repression of dissenting beliefs.

Similar tactics are used in India, where Christian and Muslim communities suffer a “hybrid persecution” – a form of persecution notable for its discriminatory laws and threat of violence that are directly driven by inflammatory political rhetoric. Draconian blasphemy laws create vulnerable Christian targets in countries where they are a minority presence. In Pakistan, Christians regularly face spurious charges accusing them of derogatory comments against the Islamic faith.

Most of these claims are without foundation and are advanced to stifle religious practise amongst the very small Christian community. The West, although at the lesser end of the scale, has not been without its own worrying patterns in attitudes towards religious freedom. In Europe, we’ve noted that many Christians face a growing disapproval of their beliefs in the public sphere, whether that be in the media, in politics, in the workplace, or within general public discourse.

Caricatures lead to a suspicion of people of faith, and this suspicion has often been employed in subtle, even gentle forms, which recently deceased Pope Francis characterised as “polite persecution”. Granted, this form of persecution is a lot more benign, but the results are still chilling. In an era where the twin pillars of tolerance and inclusion underlie western attitudes, a culture that continuously excludes and dismisses people because of their faith is something that manifestly contradicts these most heralded and cherished principles.

These conflicting standards indicate that extraordinarily, a blind spot has emerged in the context of religious persecution. This irony is not lost on Christians alone, but people of faith in general, who may decide to carefully avoid sharing any faith-based aspect of their life for fear of being burdened because of their religious convictions. I had the privilege of composing the Ireland section of the report, and I was personally shocked to learn of some of the blatant religious freedom violations that have taken place in this country over the past two years. Chief among these violations was the rise in the number of serious attacks members of the clergy have recently faced, with three prominent attacks taking place in Co. Galway, Co. Kildare, and Co. Down over a two-year period. One widely reported attack on a priest saw the cleric stabbed repeatedly by a 16-year-old boy who had been radicalised online and had previously expressed sympathy for terrorist organisations such as ISIS and al-Qaeda.

Our report notes that the Jewish community in Ireland, a long-established and much respected community, has flagged its concerns that antisemitism is growing in Ireland. One notable example of antisemitism contained in the report was a November 2024 alleged attack on a Jewish student who was wearing a Star of David in a Dublin nightclub. The victim reportedly was asked: “Are you Jewish?” Upon confirming, he was allegedly attacked and beaten by the three men. The report notes that relations with the Muslim community, the fastest growing religious community in Ireland, are generally positive. Although in February 2024, Dr Umar Al-Qadri, an Imam, was the victim of an alleged assault which he described as a “hate crime”.

The incident left Dr Al-Qadri with broken teeth and a swollen face. He later warned that mosques and other Muslim sites will have to put security measures in place “to prevent anything negative” from happening as they were “not immune to hatred”. Notwithstanding religious freedom’s relatively healthy state in Ireland, these incidences point to a society where religious intolerance cannot be limited to the abstract. In response to the deteriorating state of religious freedom in the world, we kindly appeal to everyone here today to participate in our first-ever global petition.

 This petition calls for concrete action to be taken in the form of laws to defend people's right to religious freedom. The petition will be available to sign until November 2026 when it will be formally presented to the United Nations, European Union, representatives of democratic governments and the diplomatic community encouraging them to join the movement. To take a stand for this fundamental right, you can sign the petition by logging onto acninternational.org.

Incredibly, more Christians have lost their lives for their faith in the last century than in the previous 1,900 years of Christian history. How serendipitous that in 2025 we mark the 250^th anniversary of the birth of the liberator of Irish Catholics, Daniel O’Connell.

Our report, although timely and informative, painfully reinforces that in 2025 there’s still a tremendous amount of liberating to be done around the world and a lot of people needed to champion it.

ENDS