CNA Staff, Aug 22, 2025 /
06:00 am
Aug. 22 marks the International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief, an annual day of awareness to draw attention to human rights related to freedom of religion.
To mark the day, Marta Petrosillo, editor-in-chief of the Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) Religious Freedom Report highlighted the current challenges Christians around the world face.
While the idea of facing persecution for one’s beliefs may seem impossible to some, Petrosillo emphasized in a press release that “it is a reality for hundreds of millions of people all over the world.” She said having days that put a spotlight on people who have experienced violence because of their religion or beliefs is important because “there’s sometimes a tendency to overlook this phenomenon.”
Petrosillo explained that there are three different kinds of religious persecution: persecution perpetuated by the state, persecution caused by religious extremism — such as jihadist groups — and persecution caused by ethno-religious nationalism.
Currently, the continent Petrosillo sees as a main concern is Africa, where in recent years religious persecution has skyrocketed.
“We see many jihadist groups perpetrating more attacks, including in countries where interfaith relations were not a problem,” she said. “Take the Democratic Republic of Congo, for instance. Historically, there have not been problems between faith communities, and it is majority Christian, but we just witnessed a major attack on Christian faithful.”
She added: “This is definitely something that is spreading in many parts of Africa, and it tends to spread from one country to another.”
Petrosillo also pointed out the situation in Burkina Faso: Where 10 years ago it was not among the countries of concern, “nowadays, it is unfortunately one of the places in the world where more jihadist attacks happen.”
Other areas with worsening situations include Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America. Petrosillo also sees concerns with religious freedoms being violated in the West.
“During the past years we saw an increase of attacks against some faith groups, vandalism against churches, and an increase of antisemitic and anti-Islamic episodes because of the war in Gaza,” she said.
“Then there is an effort to exclude religion from the public square, including what Pope Francis called ‘polite persecution.’ We are also concerned about disrespect for conscientious objections of people working in the health sector.”
Every two years ACN releases its Religious Freedom Report (RFR), which first began in 1999 with the aim of raising awareness and to report on violations of religious freedom.
“What makes it special is that the RFR is the only report produced by an NGO [nongovernmental organization] that covers the situation in all the countries in the world and for all faith groups, because if religious freedom is denied for one group, sooner or later, it will also be denied to others,” Petrosillo explained. “And for ACN, it is important that religious freedom is granted equally to all.”
This year’s report, according to Petrosillo, continues to show the worsening trend of religious freedom violations in countries around the world. However, she said she remains hopeful, as she sees “improvements in the increasing awareness, both from civil society and some governments, of what is happening.”
“This can be the game changer in order to act against the violation of religious freedom,” she said.
ACN’s most recent Religious Freedom Report, issued in June 2023, can be found here. The new report will be out Oct. 21.
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Francesca is a staff reporter for Catholic News Agency. She received her degree in Communications with an emphasis in Digital Media from the University of Colorado – Denver. She is also in charge of the social media for Catholic News Agency.
