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US Calls Out Countries on Religious Freedom Abuses

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It's an idea enshrined in the Bill of Rights. Still, most Americans take for granted their First Amendment guarantee to freedom of religion.

It's a different story for others in many places around the world.

The stark contrast between our reality and theirs is made abundantly clear in the 2015 International Religious Freedom Report published by the U.S. State Department.

"No nation can fulfill its potential if its people are denied the right to freely choose and openly practice their faith," said Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the release of the annual report on Wednesday.

China, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and North Korea - the usual offenders - topped the list of countries where religious freedom is at its worst.

The document also noted violations by terrorist groups like al Qaeda, Boko Haram, and ISIS, which the State Department singled out earlier this year for committing genocide, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing against Kurds, Christians, and Yazidis.

"Naming these crimes is important, but our goal is to stop them," Blinken said.

The report also addressed religious freedom in India under the first year of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose record on human rights has come under fire.

India, by law, is a secular state and its constitution protects freedom of religion.

Yet, the report cites nearly 200 incidents of "violence, harassment, or discrimination across the country targeting Christians" reported by the Evangelical Fellowship of India. Those attacks included assaults on missionaries as well as churches, schools, and private property.

"Shining light on the problems are the best way to address them," said David Saperstein, Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom at the State Department.

The report paid special attention to blasphemy and apostasy laws, which about a quarter of the world's countries have instituted ostensibly to protect religious sentiments from defamation.

The harsh reality is those very same laws are often used to intimidate or repress religious minorities and to suppress dissent or political rivals.

*Click here to read the full report*

The report also highlights countries that show signs of improvement like Vietnam. While the Southeast Asian country is far from implementing critical reforms, religious freedom is gradually expanding according to the 2015 report.

Additionally, the State Department included information about two new appointed positions with the European Commission: one to combat anti-Semitism and the other to challenge anti-Muslim sentiment.

The annual report is required by Congress after it passed the International Religious Freedom Act in 1998.

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John
Jessup

John Jessup serves as the main news anchor for CBN, based at the network's news bureau in Washington, D.C. He joined CBN News in September 2003, starting as a national correspondent and then covering the Pentagon and Capitol Hill. His work in broadcast news has earned him several awards in reporting, producing, and coordinating election coverage. While at CBN, John has reported from several places, including Moore, Oklahoma, after the historic EF5 tornado and parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas devastated by Hurricane Katrina. He also traveled to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, during the height