ISIS among greatest threats to religious freedom, State says

The latest religious freedom report said that the North’s policy towards religion has been to maintain “an appearance of tolerance for global audiences, while suppressing internally all non-state-sanctioned religious activities”.

“Our primary goal is to help governments everywhere recognize that their societies will do better with religious liberty than without it”, Secretary of State John Kerry said.

The State Department said a few human rights NGOs and religious minority groups expressed concern over what they perceived as laws and government practises favouring Hinduism over other faiths, while a few Hindu groups expressed concern over laws and government practises that they perceived as favouring minority religious communities.

The spokesperson urged the U.S.to stop adopting double standards on the issue and stop making irresponsible remarks towards other countries.

And I particularly want to thank David Saperstein and his entire team for producing a report that reflects a vast amount of objective research and that will provide a uniquely valuable resource for anybody who cares about religious freedom in all of its aspects. Terrified young girls have been separated out by religion and sold into slavery.

The report also says that while many governments have worked harder to end abuses, extremist non-state actors like the Islamic State are on the rise.

“Additionally, the State Department does not utilize the tools it has to name and shame ‎violators of religious freedom such as the designation of Country of Particular Concern (CPC)‎”.

The report itself warned that “a surge in anti-Semitism in Western Europe during 2014 left many pondering the viability of Jewish communities in a few countries”.

It said Mennonite pastors in southern Binh Duong Province reported government forces raided a Bible class in June and subsequently detained 29 pastors and 47 students, who were beaten before authorities released them the following day. A wide range of US government agencies and offices use the reports for such efforts as shaping policy and conducting diplomacy.

Taiwan was criticized once again by a US Department of State report for failing to legally guarantee a weekly rest day for the nation’s 216,000 domestic service workers and caretakers. “Such laws are inconsistent with worldwide human rights and fundamental freedoms, and we will continue to call for their universal repeal”.