Mainland Asia
Armed conflict, kidnapping, arbitrary detention, and new laws curtailing rights continue to erode the rapidly shrinking space for religious freedom in Mainland Asia. Encompassing North Korea, China, Laos, India, Bangladesh, and Vietnam, the region includes some of the world’s largest and most populous countries, home to numerous religious and ethnic communities, and experiences some of the world’s worst violations of religious freedom.
Totalitarian repression and systematic control
Religious freedom in China has continued to suffer under President Xi Jinping, as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) intensifies its policy of “Sinicisation”, aiming to align all religious traditions with socialist ideology. The 2023 Measures on the Administration of Religious Activity Venues and the Patriotic Education Law imposed stringent requirements on religious communities to promote core socialist values.[1] All religious venues are now subject to state evaluations and are prohibited from hosting activities deemed contrary to national interests. The repression of unregistered religious groups has escalated, with widespread reports of arrests, detentions, and closures of places of worship. Clergy have been sentenced on vague charges such as “fraud” or “subversion”, and religious content on the internet remains heavily censored.[2] In Xinjiang, measures introduced in 2024 required that all new religious buildings reflected “Chinese characteristics”, a sign of accelerating efforts to erase Uyghur religious and cultural identity.[3] Over 600 Uyghur villages were renamed, and people continued to face intense surveillance, arbitrary detention, and punishment for engaging in religious practices.[4]
North Korea remains one of the most repressive regimes in the world. Although the constitution guarantees freedom of belief, this is nullified by a state ideology that demands absolute loyalty to the Kim dynasty. Any expression of religious belief is regarded as a direct threat to state authority. Individuals discovered with religious materials or accused of participating in unauthorised religious activities face severe punishment, including torture, life imprisonment, or execution. China’s policy of forced repatriation has further worsened the plight of North Korean defectors. Those returned to North Korea are frequently subjected to harsh punishment, including forced labour, or even executed.[5]
In Vietnam, religious minorities such as Montagnard and Hmong Christians and Khmer-Krom Buddhists experience continuous pressure, especially in the Central Highlands. Authorities have disrupted worship, demolished gathering places, and pressurised individuals to renounce their faith.[6] Members of unregistered groups are frequently detained under vague national security charges.
Similarly, in Laos, religious persecution persists despite constitutional protections. In 2023–2024, Christians were expelled from villages such as Mai and Sa Mouay for refusing to abandon their beliefs. Churches were demolished, and pastors detained—sometimes for weeks—without charges. In July 2024, Pastor Thongkham Philavanh was assassinated, highlighting the risks faced by Christian leaders in rural areas.[7]
State-endorsed nationalism and religious freedom restrictions
In Myanmar, political power, ethnic identity, and religious affiliation are deeply interwoven, influencing both the dynamics of the ongoing civil conflict and the progressive erosion of fundamental rights. Although the current war is not inherently religious, it has significantly worsened the conditions for religious freedom. The military junta has been associated with a Buddhist nationalist agenda[8] which is intolerant of non-Bamar ethnic groups and non-Buddhist religious groups, often associating them with ethnic resistance movements or civil society actors. Religious sites are frequently attacked, as they often serve as centres for both community life and humanitarian assistance. Since the 2021 coup, hundreds of churches, including Catholic ones, have been bombed or burned.[9] Religious leaders have been killed, arrested or subjected to intimidation. The 2008 Constitution remains in force, assigning Buddhism a “special position” and codifying discriminatory laws on conversion and interfaith marriage.[10] The Rohingya continue to suffer atrocities and forced displacement.
In Sri Lanka, the influence of Sinhalese Buddhist nationalism, particularly in the Eastern Province, has led to increased surveillance, harassment, and legal pressure on religious minorities. The ICCPR Act and the Prevention of Terrorism Act have been used to target dissenting voices.[11] Tamil Hindus report land seizures, while Christians and Muslims are regularly intimidated. Although the country has experienced political stabilisation, the government’s resistance to human rights monitoring undermines accountability and trust.
Hybrid persecution and legalised intolerance
In India, constitutional guarantees of religious freedom are undermined by Hindu nationalist policies promoted by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Since 2014, increasing restrictions have been placed on Muslim and Christian communities. The Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) has been used to suspend or cancel the licences of NGOs linked to religious minorities. By 2024, only 15,947 NGOs remained authorised to receive foreign funding, down from more than 35,000.[12] Anti-conversion laws now exist in 12 states,[13] including Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, where provisions allow any citizen to file complaints—raising the risk of false accusations.
Religious violence has surged, with Christians experiencing a record 834 attacks in 2024, particularly in Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, involving mob assaults.[14] In Manipur, intercommunal clashes between Christian Kuki-Zo tribes and Hindu Meitei groups led to dozens of deaths and widespread destruction.[15] India now exemplifies a model of “hybrid persecution”, combining legal suppression with mob violence.
In neighbouring Nepal, anti-conversion provisions in the constitution have led to harassment of Christian communities. Pastors and laypeople have been arrested or publicly humiliated, especially when accused of converting Dalits.[16] In September 2023, Hindu activists disrupted a Christian gathering in Kharhni, dismissed the attendees, and smeared the faces of two pastors with black ink.[17] A week earlier, an Indian missionary couple was handed over to the authorities. In August 2024, a church in Dhanusha was sealed over allegations of “mass conversions”.[18]
Post-transition instability and religious tensions
Bangladesh maintains ambiguous principles, naming Islam as the state religion while upholding secularism as a constitutional value. In practice, this duality has fostered instability and discrimination. The Cyber Security Act[19]—adopted in 2023—has continued to suppress dissent and target minority groups.
Following Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s departure in 2024 and the installation of an interim government under Muhammad Yunus, minority communities have reported increased violence and discrimination. The lifting of the ban on Jamaat-e-Islami has sparked concern over growing Islamist influence.[20] In the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Christian communities have been subject to targeted harassment, while the plight of Rohingya refugees remains unresolved and precarious.
[1] CSW, General Briefing, China, 17 December 2024 - https://www.csw.org.uk/2024/12/17/report/6398/article.htm (accessed 1st July 2025).
[2] Xi’an Church of Abundance: Trial Against Pastors Starts with Fabricated “Victims”, Bitter Winter, 1st July 2025, https://bitterwinter.org/xian-church-of-abundance-trial-against-pastors-starts-with-fabricated-victims/, (accessed 10th August 2025).
[3] China File, “A Rew Round of Restrictions Further Constrains Religious Practice in Xinjiang,” 19 April 2024 - https://www.chinafile.com/reporting-opinion/viewpoint/new-round-of-restrictions-further-constrains-religious-practice-xinjiang (accessed 1st July 2025).
[4] “China: Hundreds of Uyghur Village Names Change,” Human Rights Watch, 18th June 2024, https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/06/18/china-hundreds-uyghur-village-names-change (accessed 15th June 2025).
[5] Jang, S. “Repatriated N. Korean defectors who interacted with Christians sent to political prison camps,” Daily NK, 24 April 2024, https://www.dailynk.com/english/repatriated-north-korean-defectors-interacted-christians-sent-political-prison-camps/ (accessed 16 March 2025).
[6] Country policy and information note: ethnic and religious groups, Vietnam, December 2024, GOV.UK, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vietnam-country-policy-and-information-notes/country-policy-and-information-note-ethnic-and-religious-groups-vietnam-february-2022-accessible-version (accessed 19th August 2025).
[7] “Christian Persecution in Laos: Evangelical Pastor Killed,” AsiaNews, 26th July 2024, https://www.asianews.it/news-en/Christian-persecution-in-Laos:-evangelical-pastor-killed-61228.html (accessed 30th January 2025).
[8] John Cosenza, “The Rise of Buddhist Ethnonationalism and Military Impunity in Myanmar,” International Christian Concern (ICC), 7th February 2020, https://www.persecution.org/2020/02/07/rise-buddhist-ethnonationalism-military-impunity-myanmar/ (accessed 11th June 2025).
[9] “Religious Freedom under attack in Burma,” Voice of America (VOA), 4th March 2025, https://editorials.voa.gov/a/religious-freedom-under-attack-in-burma/7997635.html (accessed 11th June 2025).
[10]Myanmar 2008, Constitute Project, https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Myanmar_2008 , (accessed 19th August 2025).
[11] End Blasphemy Laws, Sri Lanka, https://end-blasphemy-laws.org/countries/asia-central-southern-and-south-eastern/sri-lanka/ , (accessed 19th August 2025).
[12] Purohit, K. “ Empty bed lost jobs; the price of Indian’s crackdown on NGO funds,” 11th July 2024, Context https://www.context.news/money-power-people/empty-beds-lost-jobs-the-price-of-indias-crackdown-on-ngo-funds (accessed 10 February 2025).
[13] “New anti-conversion law takes effect in Rajasthan,” 21st February 2025, International Christian Concern, https://www.persecution.org/2025/02/21/new-anti-conversion-law-takes-effect-in-rajasthan/ , (accessed 19th August 2025)
[14]“Growing violence threatens Christian existence in India,” UCA News, 24th January 2024, https://www.ucanews.com/news/growing-violence-threatens-christian-existence-in-india/107676 (accessed 10th February 2025)
[15] “Manipur Mods Destroyed Hundreds of Our Churches. Yet God Calls Us Christians to Repent,” Christianity Today, 9th August 2023, https://www.christianitytoday.com/2023/08/manipur-kuki-india-christian-persecution-pastor-imphal/(accessed 10th February 2025)
[16] Rozario, R. “Christians in Nepal persecuted by religious and political decree,” UCA News, 7 May 2021, https://www.ucanews.com/news/christians-in-nepal-persecuted-by-religious-and-political-decree/92379, (accessed 15th May, 2025).
[17] “Church attacked as part of growing trend,” Voice of the Martrys, 14 September 2024, https://www.vomcanada.com/np-2023-09-14.htm (accessed 15th May, 2025).
[18] “Nepal: Police seal illegal church after Hindu organisations protest agsinst mass conversion of Dalits into Christianity, demands action against Pastor who converted from Hinduisum,” OP India, 31st August 2024. https://www.opindia.com/2024/08/nepal-police-locks-church-after-hindu-organisations-protest-against-mass-conversion-of-dalits-into-christianity/ (accessed 15th May, 2025).
[19] Kallol Mustafa, “ The shadow of Digital Security Act over Cyber Protection Ordinance,” The Daily Star, 28th December 2024, https://www.thedailystar.net/opinion/views/news/the-shadow-digital-security-act-over-the-cyber-protection-ordinance-3785841 (accessed 20th January 2025).
[20] “Bangladesh Interim Government Lifts Ban on Jamaat-e-Islami and Islami Chhatrashibir,” DD News, 28th August 2024, https://ddnews.gov.in/en/bangladesh-interim-govt-lifts-ban-on-jamaat-e-islami-and-islami-chhatrashibir/; “Bangladesh revokes ban imposed on main Islamic party by ex-PM Hasina,” Reuters, 28th August 2024, https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/bangladesh-revokes-ban-imposed-main-islamic-party-by-ex-pm-hasina-2024-08-28/ (accessed 16th March 2025).
