Human rights are under siege in many nations. Three of the world’s most important countries, China, Russia, and India, are moving backward on political freedom, though the last at least still holds free elections. All three also are increasingly violating religious liberty. And they are not alone. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom recently released its latest report, which concluded that religious repression is rampant.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the problem. Religious minorities remain convenient scapegoats, which was sadly evident in 2020. USCIRF observed that its “monitoring revealed that in some countries, already marginalized religious minorities faced official and/or societal stigmatization, harassment, and discrimination for allegedly causing or spreading the virus.” Moreover, those imprisoned for their religious beliefs were vulnerable to increased health risks due to the disease’s spread in overcrowded prisons.