Religious freedom expert on religious minorities in government strategies

– You are quite right to be a little sceptical when you encounter claims that one or other religious group is particularly or most persecuted. There are different ways of analysing which groups are most persecuted. If we look at the number of people affected overall, or the number of countries where members of a religious group are affected, Christians and Muslims are at the top of the list according to most experts. These religious groups are very large, they are geographically dispersed, and they are minority populations in a very large number of countries. If we count in this way, we also have several reports from both Christian and non-Christian analysts showing a sharp increase in persecution of Christians in recent years. But if we look at the percentage of adherents who suffer abuse or persecution, small religious groups in difficult contexts come out on top – for example, Yazidis or Bahais. Small groups are always in a minority position. It should also be remembered that in many countries it is extremely difficult to come out as a convinced atheist or humanist at all.

The question of who is most affected by violations and persecution is also very often politically motivated, which we should probably pay attention to even now. The most important thing is that we work together to ensure that everyone has equal human rights. Regardless of the country or community we are talking about, all religious minorities and all those who belong to the majority religion, but interpret it differently, generally suffer abusive restrictions when these occur. In turn, men, women and sexual minorities are also affected differently, with the latter two groups being much more likely to experience multiple intersectional violations.

You can read more about this here:

More than 365 million Christians suffer high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith

Religiously unaffiliated people face harassment in a growing number of countries

International humanist society Freedom of Thought report

Pew Forums senaste rapport om utvecklingen för religions- och övertygelsefriheten globalt inkl statistik över förföljelse av religiösa grupper

– That is a very valid question! I believe that this is a reflection of a very Swedish understanding of freedom of religion, which may not always fit well with how the right is expressed in international law, depending on how it is interpreted and what is meant. Freedom of Religion or Belief gives every person the right to freely choose their religion or belief and to leave a religion or belief. Freedom of Religion or Belief also prohibits any form of coercion in the choice or practice of religion. In this way, freedom of religion provides a right to freedom from religion.

However, Freedom of Religion or Belief also gives everyone the right to practise their religion in private and in public, alone or with others. Therefore, there is no right not to practise religion as such, for example, in the public space. As for the visibility of religion or religious affiliation in public administration, for example, different countries have slightly different interpretations based on history, culture and state practice, which the European Court of Human Rights has recognised in its case law as part of each country’s self-determination.

If you want to learn more about this, we suggest you watch the SMC films on what Freedom of Religion or Belief means.

– Together with faith-based organisations in the other Nordic countries, the SMC has produced several different resource materials on how to work with Freedom of Religion or Belief in development cooperation, diplomacy and at a grassroots level. Our materials have been tested in almost all parts of the world as well as in Sweden. You can find all of this on Forb Learning Platform where several of the resources are also translated into 23 different languages, including Swedish.