16 Countries Named to "Religious Hall of Shame;" US Rel. Watchdog Names China as Worst Country

Persecution against believers in China was front and center as the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released its 20th annual report this week, the Christian Post website reports today (May 3, 2019).

The report divides countries into different tiers, with "Tier 1" recommendations representing countries that the Commission believes should be labeled by the U.S. State Department as "countries of particular concern" (CPC). The CPC label carries with it the possibility that the countries could face sanctions or other negative consequences.

"Tier 2" identifies countries where religious freedom violations have happened but have not risen to the severity needed to be considered Tier 1.

The 16 Tier 1 countries are: Burma, Central African Republic, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.