Religious Freedom
China, a legally atheist state, claims to have identified the next Panchen Lama who, in Tibetan Buddhist tradition, has the task of identifying the next Dalai Lama.
RUSSIA
KAZAKHSTAN
State attitudes to religion 2006 or latest available data
discriminates against all religions and interferes with religious freedom favours religion of majority and interferes with or limits freedom of other religions favours religion of majority but tolerates other religions
MONGOLIA UZBEKISTAN TURKMEN.
AFGHANISTAN
PAKISTAN
tolerates all religions
SOUTH KOREA
TAJIKISTAN
Islam
JAPAN
NORTH KOREA
KYRGYZSTAN
Buddhism
NEPAL
state religion established in law
BHUTAN
Hong Kong SAR
BANGLADESH
Islam
state declared atheist in law
C H I N A
Hinduism
INDIA
BURMA
TAIWAN
state recognizes more than one religion or religious group
Macao SAR
LAOS
VIETNAM
monarch must be of given religion
THAILAND PHILIPPINES
Islam
head of state or government must be of given religion
CAMBODIA
Buddhism SRI LANKA
Islam
Buddhism
MALDIVES
BRUNEI
MALAYSIA
Islam
SINGAPORE
INDONESIA
SEYCHELLES
Islam Islam Roman Catholicism Buddhism/Hinduism Protestantism New Religious Movements Confucianism
NAURU
BOUGAINVILLE
PAPUA NEW GUINEA
KIRIBATI
SOLOMON ISLANDS
EAST TIMOR
RÉUNION
Christianity Islam LEBANON ISRAEL
AMERICAN SAMOA SAMOA
IRAN
SYRIA
Islam JORDAN
Islam
IRAQ
KUWAIT
Islam
Christianity VANUATU
AUSTRALIA
Islam
BAHRAIN
FIJI
Islam
QATAR
NEW CALEDONIA
TONGA
Islam
UAE
Islam SAUDI ARABIA
OMAN
Islam NEW
ERITREA
ZEALAND
YEMEN
Islam
Islam
The connection between politics and religion is evident everywhere, for faith is often a question of government policy and even the cornerstone of the state. Nearly a quarter of the world’s states have formal links to a religion but what that means varies markedly. The establishment of an official religion can mean religious intolerance and persecution, but has also proven to be compatible with a secular state and religious tolerance. Religious freedom has increased since the end of the Cold War as the number of states intolerant of all religions has declined. 81
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