State Department releases report on global religious freedom

The State Department has released its annual report on the state of religious freedom throughout the world.

The report starts by saying that 2013 was the year that saw the most displacement of religious communities "in recent memory." This displacement affected all of the world's major religions including Hindus, Christians, Muslims, and Buddhists.

The report notes that in the Syrian city of Homs, the Christian population has fallen from 160,000 to less than 1,000 after three years of civil war in that country.

In the Central African Republic, Muslim and Christian groups have been waging a war against each other that's claimed thousands of lives. As the warring factions took on a decidedly religious flavor, millions have had to flee their previously heterogeneous communities for those where their particular faith is the majority.

In Burma, Buddhist mobs attacked Muslims through out the country, burning their homes and forcing them to flee with little more than the clothes on their backs. Hundreds of Muslims have been murdered, and more than 150,000 displaced.

In addition to discussing specific incidents of religious intolerance, the report singles out governments that the United States believes do not do enough to protect the religious liberties of its citizens.

These nations include North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Sudan, China, Cuba, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. These nations were accused of punishing those who did not conform to the state's approved religious practices.

North Korea, Cuba, and China ban all forms of religious freedom and expression because they are ruled by Communist regimes, of which state-imposed atheism is a hallmark.

Saudi Arabia, Iran, Sudan, the Central Asian republics were singled out because of how they treated religious dissidents.

In Saudi Arabia, there is not a single place of worship that is not Muslim.

In Iran, the government arrests people who practice Christianity or Zoroastrianism. It also discriminates against Muslim sects that are not part of the Shia majority.

The United States estimated that Uzbekistan currently has between 10,000 and 12,000 people in prison on religious grounds.