A report released Oct. 21 on religious freedom around the world has found that nearly 65% of the world’s population — almost 5.4 billion people — live in countries with serious or very serious levels of religious persecution.
Vatican News reported that Aid to the Church in Need’s (ACN) 2025 edition of its Religious Freedom in the World Report examined 196 countries between the start of 2023 and the end of 2024. The report separates countries around the world into three categories: those currently experiencing religious persecution, those experiencing religious discrimination, and those that are being monitored in case persecution or discrimination arise.
Marta Petrosillo, the report’s editor-in-chief, said that 24 countries are in the persecution group and 38 are in the discrimination category, Vatican News reported. According to the report, 24 countries are being monitored.
Petrosillo also explained that religious persecution can take different forms, including authoritarian governments, ethno-religious nationalism, organized crime, legalized intolerance, digital persecution or discrimination, censorship, and more, according to Vatican News. She also noted that wars can bring persecution, even if the war is not fought for religious reasons.
The report was released during a conference at the Patristic Institute Augustinianum in Rome, Vatican News and ACN stated. According to ACN, the conference included religious and public leaders, as well as victims of persecution, “to shine a light on one of the greatest human rights issues of our time.”
Vatican News reported that Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin gave the conference’s keynote address, and ACN members offered insights into the report, highlighting crucial data and reflecting on global religious persecution. The report does not focus exclusively on Christianity but observes levels of persecution of or discrimination against any religion.
In the report, ACN International Executive President Regina Lynch urged readers to take “personal action” against religious persecution and discrimination, calling them “to denounce violations, to spread awareness, and to remain informed.”
“Each of us must play our part, because where religious freedom thrives, peace, justice, and the full dignity of the human person are strengthened,” she later added. “Religious freedom is not a privilege — it is a fundamental human right.”
According to Vatican News, ACN will present a petition to the United Nations, the European Union, representatives of democratic governments, and the diplomatic community in late 2026, asking them to pass laws protecting a right to religious freedom.
