Several countries ban proselytization, either in general or for specific religious groups. Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan have significant restrictions against the practice of religion in general, and other countries like China discourage it on a wide basis.
The constitution of the People's Republic of China (PRC), which cites the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), states that citizens “enjoy freedom of religious belief” but limits protections for religious practice to “normal religious activities,” without defining “normal.” The government recognizes five ...
Religious liberty is enshrined in the text of our Constitution and in numerous federal statutes. It encompasses the right of all Americans to exercise their religion freely, without being coerced to join an established church or to satisfy a religious test as a qualification for public office.
Atheism. Atheism describes a state of having no theistic beliefs; that is, no beliefs in gods or supernatural beings.
The only dietary restrictions specified for Christians in the New Testament are to "abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from meat of strangled animals" (Acts 15:29), teachings that the early Church Fathers, such as Clement of Alexandria and Origen, preached for believers to follow.
In Abrahamic religions, eating pig flesh is clearly forbidden by Jewish (kashrut), Islamic (haram) and Adventist (kosher animals) dietary laws. Although Christianity is also an Abrahamic religion, most of its adherents do not follow these aspects of Mosaic law and are permitted to consume pork.
Islamic states
In some, mostly Muslim states, censorship of the Bible exists today, such as in Saudi Arabia where the distribution of non-Muslim religious materials such as Bibles is illegal. Afghan Christians practice in secret. Bibles are not sold publicly.
According to sociologists Ariela Keysar and Juhem Navarro-Rivera's review of numerous global studies on atheism, there are 450 to 500 million positive atheists and agnostics worldwide (7% of the world's population) with China alone accounting for 200 million of that demographic.
God Without Religion introduces this age-old approach to spiritual inquiry for modern day readers. Step by step, it offers a bridge between organized religion and mystical spirituality for anyone questioning traditional dogma or its legacy of divisiveness.
Sometimes called the official religion of ancient Persia, Zoroastrianism is one of the world's oldest surviving religions, with teachings older than Buddhism, older than Judaism, and far older than Christianity or Islam. Zoroastrianism is thought to have arisen “in the late second millennium B.C.E.
WHAT IS RELIGIOUS FREEDOM EXACTLY? The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution says that everyone in the United States has the right to practice his or her own religion, or no religion at all.
The government recognizes five official religions – Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Protestantism, and Catholicism.
Officially, North Korea is an atheist state, although its constitution guarantees free exercise of religion, provided that religious practice does not introduce foreign forces, harm the state, or harm the existing social order.
Religion in South Korea has been characterized by a rise of Christianity and a revival of Buddhism, though the majority of South Koreans have no religious affiliation or follow folk religions. Religion in North Korea is characterized by state atheism in which freedom of religion is nonexistent.
Atheists and religious skeptics can be executed in at least thirteen nations: Afghanistan, Iran, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Nigeria, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Libya, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
Mercier and colleagues divide the proximate causes of religious belief into three types: cognitive, motivational, and societal. One cognitive factor is an analytical thinking style. People who tend to act according to reason rather than intuition are also less likely to believe in God.
Ranking the Faithful
Saudi Arabia has edged out Israel as the country perceived as the most religious, according to data from the 2022 Best Countries rankings from U.S. News, a characterization of 85 countries based on a survey of more than 17,000 global citizens.
The Portland metro area is the most religiously unaffiliated city in the United States, with 42 percent of residents identifying as atheist, agnostic or no religion in particular.
Between 30 and 39 per cent of the people on the Japanese islands say they are "convinced atheists". Religion in Japan has historically been centred around Shintoism, which is based on ritual and a mythology surrounding the ancient past of Japan, rather than an all-seeing god.
Persecution in North Korea
They can't meet together to worship or tell others about Jesus. If they are caught with a Bible, singing a hymn, or praying, they can face up to 15 years in a labor camp. Life in the camps is unbearable. Believers are forced to work 12 hours a day and are frequently beaten with metal rods.
Currently, among China's major religions, which include Buddhism, Taoism, Islam and folk beliefs, Christianity is the only one whose major holy text cannot be sold through normal commercial channels. The Bible is printed in China but legally available only at church bookstores approved by Beijing.
Christianity in Russia is the most widely professed religion in the country. The largest tradition is the Russian Orthodox Church. According to official sources, there are 170 eparchies of the Russian Orthodox Church, 145 of which are grouped in metropolitanates.