Retune

This year we launched Retune, a campaign challenging voices of religious hatred. The issue of religious hatred has been getting more attention recently from the international community, and the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief produced a report focusing on this problem. Retune is our answer to how the Church can step up to its biblical mandate to be a voice of freedom, justice and peace for everyone!

Food for Freedom

This week many CSW supporters up and down the country are getting involved in our Food for Freedom Week by hosting a cupcake-themed fundraiser. At the same time, theyll be raising awareness of CSWs work for religious freedom around the world!

Nigeria

There has been a terrifying rise in religiously-motivated violence, particularly in north-eastern Nigeria. According to President Jonathan, the latest upsurge in violence by the Islamist terror group Boko Haram has claimed 12,000 lives since 2010, with over 2,000 dying in the first half of 2014. At the time of writing, an estimated 219 of the schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram in April are still missing, and according to the UN, over 300,000 Nigerians have been displaced by violence carried out by Boko Haram, as well as by increasingly well-armed Fulani herders, since May 2013.

Corea del Norte

North Korea is the worlds most closed nation with one of the worst human rights crises. The regime arguably violates every article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

China

Although Protestantism and Catholicism are both included in Chinas five official religions, Christians and others who chose to worship outside the state-sanctioned religious groups, and those who stand up for the religious rights of others, are at risk of arrest, torture, forced labour and sometimes long-term imprisonment. The recent wave of demolitions of churches and the removal of religious symbols in Zhejiang Province highlights tensions between churches and the State, but also between local and provincial authorities, and between the varying approaches to different religions. Christian communities which have enjoyed a good, or at least quiet, relationship with local authorities may now see this relationship eroded by the sharp intervention of more senior officials.

Tanzania

Since December 2012 there has been an increase in reported attacks against Christian leaders both on the countrys mainland and in Zanzibar.

Prayer diary: India

Indias religious diversity may be greater than any other country in the world. Yet concerns around religious freedom in India have grown in recent months, following the outbreak of violence against Muslims in Muzaffarnagar in September 2013, and the election of Narendra Modi as Prime Minister, representing the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Mr Modi is stoutly unapologetic for the communal violence which engulfed Gujarat during the early months of his tenure as chief minister in 2002, in which 2,000 people died, mostly Muslims.

Prayer diary: Eritrea

The human rights crisis in Eritrea is one of the most serious in the world, yet one of the least reported.

Prayer diary: Peru

Christians in the Andean highlands of Peru suffered persecution at the hands of both far-left guerrilla groups and the military over two decades of internal conflict. The militantly atheist Shining Path guerrillas considered Christians and especially church leaders to be enemies of the revolution; while the military, sent to fight the Shining Path, unfortunately used many of the same tactics against the civilian population as the terrorist group.

Prayer diary: Pakistan

A year ago, Pakistan saw its first ever successful transfer of power from one democratically elected government to another. The new government has pledged to make a difference and resolve Pakistans energy, economic and terrorism problems; but its first year has been dominated by a debate between the government and the army on whether to make peace or fight the terrorists.

Prayer Diary: Burma

In the past two years, some real signs of hope have emerged in Burma after decades of brutal military dictatorship. But theres a very long way to go before there is genuine freedom and peace.

Prayer Diary: Mexico

All across Mexico, religious freedom violations are on the rise. Although its a secular state, in many parts of Mexico traditional law takes precedence over the constitution. This happens especially where there are large indigenous populations, and Protestant Christians in particular are often targeted. Many have now waited years for justice, only to see their cases ignored or even archived by the officials responsible for helping them.