U.S. Report Puts Egypt With Worst Religion Violators

"A government agency's annual report on violations of religious rights added Egypt on Thursday to the list of the world's 14 worst violators."

Muslims in USA Face Fears, Bias to Build, Expand Mosques

"Like many American mosques, the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro faces a dilemma. As the number of Muslims in the United States grows, mosques know they must expand as well. But those plans to expand often run into hostile resistance. Opponents, like some in Murfreesboro, try to use zoning laws to block mosque building or expansion. That has left some local Muslims wondering if they are second-class citizens when it comes to religion."

Religious Persecution is Widespread, Report Warns

There are "many stark assessments about the level of religious persecution around the world today in a huge new report from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. The report names more than two dozen countries as offenders. Some engage in what's classically thought of as religious persecution."

Study: Religion Repressed in Third of All Nations

"A new report has found that nearly a third of countries have stiff restrictions on religious practice, either because of government policies and laws or hostile acts by individuals or groups. The study by the Pew Research Center, "Global Restrictions on Religion," also found that of the world's 25 most populous countries, citizens in Iran, Egypt, Indonesia, Pakistan and India live with the most restrictions when both measures are taken into account."

Here is the actual Pew Study.

Fast-Growing Christian Churches Crushed in China

"While the Chinese constitution guarantees freedom of religion, Christians are required to worship in churches run by state-controlled organizations: The Three-Self Patriotic Movement for Protestants and the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association for Roman Catholics. But more and more Chinese are opting to choose their own churches, despite them being technically illegal and subject to police harassment. Christians worshipping in China's independent churches are believed to number upwards of 60 million, compared to about 20 million who worship in the state church, according to numbers provided by scholars and church activists."