In the News–A Spiritual Perspective May 21, 2012 Issue

To secure religious freedom

By Rosalie E. Dunbar, Senior Staff Editor

Dharmsala, India. Exiled Tibetans participate in a candlelit vigil to mark two more reported self-immolations in Tibet, April 19, 2012. Thirty-two people have set themselves on fire in Tibetan areas over the past year to draw attention to China’s restrictions on Buddhism and call for the return from exile of their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.

According to a report from the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, over the last year the human right of religious freedom has been under growing attack across the globe. In its summary of the previous year’s activity, the report says, “To an alarming extent, freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief was being curtailed, often threatening the safety and survival of innocent persons, including members of religious minorities” (p. 1).

The report mentions 16 nations as Countries of Particular Concern (CPCs), and another nine are on a Watch List. These are countries where violations of religious freedom are either engaged in or tolerated by governments, but are not as severe as those in the CPCs. Those on the CPC list are: Burma, North Korea, Egypt, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, China, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam. The Watch List includes Afghanistan, Belarus, Cuba, India, Indonesia, Laos, Russia, Somalia, and Venezuela.

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