Turkey is among dozens of countries accused of systematic religious discrimination in a new global report warning that nearly two-thirds of humanity lives under governments that restrict or repress freedom of belief.
The Religious Freedom in the World Report 2025, released Tuesday by the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), places Turkey in the “discrimination” category, the second most severe level, citing laws and practices that “unfairly target certain religious groups.”
According to ACN, 24 countries including China, India, Nigeria and North Korea fall under the “persecution” category, where people face “serious and repeated acts of violence or harassment because of their faith.” Another 38 countries, among them Egypt, Vietnam, Mexico and Turkey, are listed under “discrimination,” while 24 are “under observation” for warning signs of worsening repression.
The biennial report says conditions have not improved since 2023, blaming the global deterioration on authoritarianism, ethno-religious nationalism and extremist violence.
There had been a “sharp rise” in antisemitic and anti-Muslim hate crimes, including in Europe and the United States, since the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas militants that sparked the war in Gaza.
On artificial intelligence, the group said the new technology and other digital tools were being “weaponized” to “monitor, profile and penalize religious expression.”
“In countries such as China, North Korea and Pakistan, both governments and non-state actors deploy digital tools to censor, intimidate and criminalize believers — transforming religious faith into a perceived security threat,” the report stated.
“AI’s capacities for manipulative purposes are enormous,” it added.
The ACN report, which is published every two years, is the only one conducted by an NGO that looks at all religions.
Pope Leo XIV said in a post on X after its publication that religious freedom was “a cornerstone of any just society, for it safeguards the moral space in which conscience may be formed and exercised.”
© Agence France-Presse
