A Tyrone-native in charge of a Church charity supporting persecuted Christians has warned that the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion is not only under pressure, but disappearing in a growing number of countries across the world.
Speaking during the launch of the Religious Freedom in the World 2025 report, Executive President of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) International, Regina Lynch described religious freedom as the “thermometer” for all other human rights, adding that its decline “signals a wider collapse of fundamental freedoms”.
The report highlighted the “erosion” of religious freedom across the western world, including in Europe and North America, citing approximately 1,000 attacks on churches in France in 2023, more than 600 acts of vandalism in Greece and arson attacks on 24 churches in Canada between 2021 and early 2024.
“Similar spikes were observed in Spain, Italy, the United States, and Croatia, including desecrations of places of worship, physical assaults on clergy, and disruptions of religious services—often driven by ideological hostility, militant activism, or anti-religious extremism,” the report reads.
The report concludes that there have been “grave violations” of religious freedom in 62 countries, with 24 classified as “persecution” (the most severe category), and 38 as “discrimination” (the second most severe category), together affecting almost two-thirds of humanity, or nearly 5.4 billion people.
During the reporting period of January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2024, only two of the countries classified as under persecution or discrimination, Kazakhstan and Sri Lanka, showed improvement, according to the pontifical foundation.
In addition to the 62 countries classified as being under persecution or discrimination, 24 countries were classified as being “under observation” as a result of exhibiting “warning signs” threatening religious freedom.
The warning signs include rising intolerance, the degradation of legal protections, religious extremism, and increasing state interference in religious life, which, if left unchecked, could lead to religious discrimination or persecution.
Authoritarianism was found to be the greatest threat to religious freedom, with restrictive regimes found to have “systematically enforced legal and bureaucratic mechanisms to suppress religious life”.
“In countries such as China, Eritrea, Iran and Nicaragua, the government represses religion through pervasive surveillance, restrictive legislation, and the repression of dissenting beliefs.
“Authoritarian rule is among the main drivers of persecution in 19 countries and underpins patterns of discrimination in 33 others,” ACN said.
Another notable driver of persecution identified in the report is jihadism, which according to ACN “escalates, adapts, and destabilises on an unprecedented scale”.
As such, religious extremism was found to underlie persecution in 15 countries, contributing to discrimination in 10 others.
Ethno-religious nationalism meanwhile was identified as responsible for the repression of minorities in parts of Asia.
“In India and Myanmar, Christian and Muslim communities suffer from aggression and legal exclusion. In India, the report defines the situation as ‘hybrid persecution’ — a combination of discriminatory laws and violence carried out by civilians but encouraged by political rhetoric,” ACN said.
In western societies, crimes and incidents targeting particular religious groups surged during the reporting period.
Following the October 7 Hamas attack in Israel in 2023, and the subsequent war in Gaza, both antisemitic and anti-Muslim incidents “surged across Europe, North America, and Latin America”.
“In France, antisemitic acts increased by 1,000 percent, while anti-Muslim hate crimes rose by 29 percent. Germany recorded 4,369 offences linked to the conflict—up from just 61 in 2022.
“Synagogues and mosques were attacked, individuals harassed, and hate speech proliferated online. In many cases, government responses proved inadequate, fuelling fear and insecurity among religious communities,” the report reads.
Meanwhile, conscientious objection was described as being under “increased threat,” particularly across the OSCE region.
In countries such as Armenia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, and Russia, people refusing military service on religious or ethical grounds have been imprisoned, ACN reported, adding that in western democracies, “faith-based institutions are under growing legal pressure to provide services such as abortion and assisted suicide”.
In response to the findings laid out in the report, ACN launched during the event a global petition calling on governments and international organisations to guarantee the protection of Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which guarantees every person the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
“Why this petition? Because the right to believe — or to live according to one’s convictions — is in decline in 62 countries, affecting billions of people. Over the past 25 years, ACN has documented how religious persecution destroys communities, fuels conflict and forces millions to flee. Now, more than ever, religious freedom must be defended and protected worldwide,” Ms Lynch said, adding that “religious freedom is a human right, not a privilege”.