NGO Committee on FoRB: Latest News

The monk belongs to a Buddhist group not recognized as a religious organization by the government. 2025.01.29 Buddhist monk, Venerable Thich Nhat Phuoc, is seen in this undated photo. (Venerable Thich Nhat Phuoc) Authorities in Vietnam have barred a monk from leaving the country to attend an international religious freedom conference in the United States, he … Continue reading Vietnam bars monk from attending US religious freedom conference

In the margins of the winter plenary session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), taking place from 27 to 31 January 2025 in Strasbourg, CINGO’s Committee for Interreligious and Inter-convictional Dialogue co-organised a side event entitled “For a Permanent Platform on Interreligious and Inter-convictional Dialogue at the Council of Europe” on … Continue reading Committee for Interreligious and Inter-convictional Dialogue co-organised a side event entitled “For a Permanent Platform on Interreligious and Inter-convictional Dialogue at the Council of Europe

Just weeks after the Ombudsman’s Office in Colombia warned of death threats against religious leaders amid increasing religious freedom violations, a 43-year-old Evangelical pastor and two of his family members were killed after attending a religious service in the Latin American nation.       Pastor Marlon Lora of the Prince of Peace Villaparaguay Church, his 40-year-old wife, Yorley … Continue reading Faith Comes Under Fire Amid Rising Attacks on Religious Leaders in Colombia

This article is part of a Wikipedia Religious UnReliable Sources series. Imagine this, if you will. You’re a member of a church, charity, religious group or organization. You’re reading an article on Wikipedia and are shocked or vexed to run across something you know personally to contain misinterpretation, misinformation or blatant falsehoods about your beliefs or practices. “Easy,” … Continue reading Wikipedia UnReliable Sources: Who Are These Editors and Admins Who Define “Reality” for the Rest of Us?

For two decades, Ma Yanhu worked as a tour organiser for hundreds of Chinese Muslims looking to make the Hajj pilgrimage to the Islamic holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Based in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in north-central China, and originally trained as an Islamic theologian, Ma’s work involved booking flights, arranging essential travel documents, … Continue reading When the facts and the law don’t matter, a guilty verdict is only a matter of time

As Dutch envoy of religious freedom, Bea ten Tusscher gratefully uses the Open Doors’ World Watch list that ranks persecution of Christians. “It makes persecution visible”, she says. “Although the underlying stories are often more complex.” The organisation Open Doors is anything but foreign to envoy Ten Tusscher (1961). She delved into the history of … Continue reading Religious freedom envoy aims to combat persecution of Christians worldwide

As lawmakers across the country increase their scrutiny of emerging technologies, tech-savvy religious organizations will have to navigate an increasingly contested boundary line between the requirements of law and the demands of faith. Like their secular counterparts, religious organizations—churches and synagogues, ministries, and religious schools—have rapidly embraced digital and AI technologies. Some have placed them … Continue reading Emerging Tech and Religious Freedom

USCIRF Welcomes Release of Wrongfully Imprisoned Religious Leaders and Adherents in Cuba Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) welcomes the release of Cuban Santería practitioners Donaida Pérez Paseiro and Lisdiani Rodríguez Isaac as well as Christian Pastor Lorenzo Rosales Fajardo. The Cuban government had wrongfully imprisoned the three alongside hundreds of peaceful protesters for participating in the … Continue reading USCIRF Welcomes Release of Wrongfully Imprisoned Religious Leaders and Adherents in Cuba