
Religious freedom is a cherished American value, universal human right, and a Trump administration foreign policy priority. As reported in chapter 1, the State Department has designated Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan as Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) under the International Religious Freedom Act for engaging in or tolerating systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom. The other countries so designated are Eritrea, Sudan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Burma, China, and Vietnam. In India's Freedom of Religion Acts or "anti-conversion" laws are state-level statutes that have been enacted to regulate religious conversions. All of the laws seek to prevent any person from converting or attempting to convert, either directly or otherwise, another person through "forcible" or "fraudulent" means, or by "allurement" or "inducement." Despite criticism of India's anti-conversion laws, some human rights bodies have acknowledged that these laws have resulted in few arrests and no convictions. However, some observers note that the laws create a hostile, and on occasion violent, environment for religious minority communities because they do not require any evidence to support accusations of wrongdoing as discussed in chapter 2. Chapter 3 provides an overview of religious freedom issues in India, beginning with a brief review of U.S.-India relations and India's human rights setting broadly, then discussing the country's religious demographics, religious freedom protections, and conceptions of Hindu nationalism and its key institutional proponents in Indian society.Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim-majority country, and it has long been known for its moderate interpretations of Islam. Yet, in recent years, there have been numerous acts of religious intolerance directed against minority religious groups in the country, including Ahmadis, a Muslim sect as reported in chapter 4.United States Commission on International Religious Freedom began re
Page Count:
366
Publication Date:
2020-01-01
ISBN-10:
1536172146
ISBN-13:
9781536172140
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