Two thirds of the world’s population are not guaranteed religious freedom, according to Aid to the Church in Need

The pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) presented this Tuesday in Rome its World Religious Freedom Report 2025a study that analyzes the situation in 196 countries and documents serious violations in 62 of them.

Of the 62 countries analyzed, 24 are in the most serious category: persecutionwith systematic violations of religious freedom—violence, arrests and repression. In it 75% of themthe situation has worsened. Others 38 countries present religious discriminationlimiting the worship, expression and legal equality of minorities.

It is document which covers the period between January 2023 and December 2024, reveals a disturbing fact: two thirds of the world’s population —more than 5.4 billion people—live in the 62 countries where religious freedom is not fully guaranteed. Only Kazakhstan and Sri Lanka show improvement since the previous report was published in 2023.

“The right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, protected by Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, is not only under pressure: in many countries it is disappearing,” warned Regina Lynch, international president of ACS, during the presentation of the report in Rome.

Authoritarianism, a global factor of religious repression

He report identifies authoritarianism as the main driver of religious repression. In 19 of the 24 countries classified as “persecution” and in 33 of the 38 as “discrimination”, governments apply systematic strategies – supported by artificial intelligence and digital technologies – to control or suppress religious freedom.

In China, Iran, Eritrea and Nicaragua, authorities employ mass surveillance, digital censorship, repressive laws and arbitrary detentions against independent religious communities. “The control of faith has become an instrument of political power,” says the report, which denounces a growing “bureaucratization of religious repression.”

The expansion of jihadism and religious nationalism

He Islamist extremism continues to spread, especially in Africa and Asia, being the cause main persecution in 15 countries and a discrimination factor in another 10.

The Sahel – which spans more than 5,000 kilometers from west to east, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea and encompasses parts of 10 African countries: Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia – has become the epicenter of jihadist terrorism, the report denounces. There is a presence of several groups such as the Islamic State – Sahel Province (ISSP) and Jnim, responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people, millions of displaced people and the destruction of numerous churches and schools.

At the same time, ethno-religious nationalism intensifies repression in Asia. In India and Myanmar, Christian and Muslim communities suffer attacks, legal exclusion and violence encouraged by political rhetoric. The report defines the situation in India as a “hybrid persecution”, a combination of discriminatory laws and tolerated civil violence. In Palestine, Israel, Sri Lanka and Nepal, this phenomenon results in structural discrimination.

Wars, displacements and organized crime

The degradation of religious freedom is worsened by armed conflicts in Myanmar, Ukraine, Russia, Israel and Palestine, causing a “silent crisis” of mass displacement. In Nigeria, attacks by militias linked to radicalized Fulani herdsmen have left thousands dead and entire communities destroyed.

In the Sahel, especially in Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali, Islamist militias have devastated entire villages, while in Sudan, civil war has wiped out historic Christian communities.

The report also warns of growing role of organized crime as an agent of persecution: in Mexico and Haiti, armed groups murder or kidnap religious leaders and extort parishes to impose territorial control.

The decline of religious freedom also in the West

The deterioration of this right is not limited to the developing world. In Europe and North America, ACN documents a worrying increase in attacks against places of worship and believers. In France, almost 1,000 attacks against churches were recorded in 2023; in Greece, more than 600 acts of vandalism; and similar figures are repeated in Spain, Italy and the United States.

According to ACN, these events reflect a growing climate of ideological hostility towards religion.

The report also highlights the uptick in anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim acts after the attacks of October 7, 2023 and the start of the war in Gaza. In France, anti-Semitic incidents grew by 1,000%while hate crimes against Muslims increased by 29%. In Germany, 4,369 incidents linked to the conflict were recorded, compared to only 61 the previous year.

Artificial intelligence, a weapon of religious control

The study warns about the growing use of digital technologies and artificial intelligence as instruments of persecution. In China, North Korea and Pakistan, governments and non-state actors alike use surveillance, censorship and tracking systems to criminalize faith and view religion as a threat to national security.

Conscientious objection, under pressure

Even in OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) countries, the right to conscientious objection is restricted. In Armenia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Russia, those who refuse military service on religious grounds have been imprisoned. In Western democracies such as Belgium, religiously inspired institutions face legal pressure to offer services such as abortion or assisted suicide, putting at risk the freedom to act on one’s conscience.

For the first time, ACN launched a global petition entitled “Religious freedom is a human right, not a privilege,” addressed to governments and international organizations to demand the effective application of article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Resilience and hope

Despite the bleak outlook, the report highlights the resilience of religious communities, which continue to promote education, humanitarian aid and reconciliation. In Mozambique and Burkina Faso, interreligious projects demonstrate that faith can be a driver of social cohesion.

“Religious freedom is the thermometer of respect for all other human rights. Its decline heralds a general decline in fundamental freedoms,” concluded Regina Lynch, underlining the urgency of defending this universal right.