Rights advocates report record restrictions on believers’ rights in Europe

EU flag against the background of a cathedral. Photo: fundsforNGOs

Human Rights Without Frontiers (HRWF) has recorded the highest level of government restrictions on freedom of religion in European countries in the past 20 years. In a new report, experts said that, under the pretext of religious neutrality, authorities are increasingly dictating when and how believers may express their convictions in public.

HRWF emphasized that state institutions strictly regulate prayers, processions, and protest actions, permitting them only at specific times and in designated places.

Rights advocates say such measures are imposed not because of any real threat to public order, but because of an unwillingness to see religious expression in public space. This policy turns secularism into a tool for pushing faith out of society, instead of a system meant to protect freedom of conscience for all citizens.

Experts link the tightening of controls in Europe to authorities’ fears of terrorism, migration problems, and the growing presence of Islam. At the same time, religious minorities are more often targeted, since officials frequently describe the majority faith simply as “culture” or “heritage.”

HRWF called on European leaders to defend freedom of religion and stop treating this right as “secondary,” since it serves as a key safeguard of democracy against the politics of fear.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that the European Parliament identified Christianity as the most persecuted religion.

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