ICC Note: The State Department has released a new report on the state of religious freedom worldwide, and the results for much of East Asia are not pleasant. An interesting note made below is that religion and cultural identity can often be indistinguishable in China – an indication of just how diverse the country actually is. Uighur Muslims and Tibetan Buddhists have historically been the clearest example of this phenomenon, but more and more Chinese Christians may likewise be feeling greater disassociation from elements of their country due to the CCP’s heightening belligerence towards them. Perhaps this report will continue to inspire enough worldwide rebuke that the CCP will finally yield to pressure and reel back some of its ways. North Korea is also discussed in this article.

8/11/2016 China, North Korea (Radio Free Asia) – The Obama Administration criticized China for the nation’s restrictions on religious practices that have caused the demolition of Christian churches, contributed to the self-immolation of Buddhist monks, and abuse and harassment of Uyghur Muslims.

In its comprehensive annual look at the state of religious freedom in more than 200 countries in 2015, the U.S. State Department said that the Chinese government ignores its constitutional mandate allowing citizens the “freedom of religious belief” and instead restricts religious practices it deems a threat to the nation or the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

“Over this past year, there continued to be reports that the government physically abused, detained, arrested, tortured, sentenced to prison, or harassed adherents of both registered and unregistered religious groups for activities related to their religious beliefs and practices,” the report states.

In its International Religious Freedom Report for 2015, the State Department said it was difficult to tell exactly what constitutes discrimination based on religion alone because religion and cultural identity are closely entwined.

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