Atheists around world suffer persecution, discrimination: IHEU report
The AHA is a contributor to the report issued by the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) today, Human Rights Day. We also initiated a meeting with Suzan Johnson Cook, Ambassador At Large for International Religious Freedom at the U.S. State Department, earlier this year to discuss the issue of discrimination against nontheists across the globe.
Details on our meeting and a copy of the previous report submitted to Ambassador Cook can be found here.
Additional news coverage: NBC, The Himalayan Times, The Jakarta Globe, Fiji News, Russia Today.
By Robert Evans
GENEVA |
(Reuters) – Atheists and other religious skeptics suffer persecution or discrimination in many parts of the world and in at least seven nations can be executed if their beliefs become known, according to a report issued on Monday.
The study, from the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU), showed that “unbelievers” in Islamic countries face the most severe – sometimes brutal – treatment at the hands of the state and adherents of the official religion.
But it also points to policies in some European countries and the United States which favor the religious and their organizations and treat atheists and humanists as outsiders.
To read the rest of this Reuters story, click here.
The American Humanist Association
The American Humanist Association (AHA) works to protect the rights of Humanists, atheists, and other nontheistic Americans. The AHA advances the ethical and life-affirming worldview of Humanism, which—without beliefs in gods or other supernatural forces—encourages individuals to live informed and meaningful lives that aspire to the greater good of humanity.
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