Edward Ross

Religious Freedom Correspondent

Articles by Edward Ross

2 Jan, 2025 10:53 EST

Asia Religious Freedom

Christian leaders in India issue stern appeal to government for relief from violence

By Edward Ross

More than 400 Christian leaders in India ended 2024 with a strongly-worded appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to put an end to a surge in violence against Christians that was especially heightened during the Christmas season.
26 Dec, 2024 06:35 EST

Asia Religious Freedom

Proposal in Sri Lanka targets churches’ religious freedom, NCEASL says

By Edward Ross

A proposed regulation in Sri Lanka targets Christian churches in the Buddhist-majority country, according to an evangelical association.
13 Dec, 2024 06:12 EST

Europe Religious Freedom

Legislation in Russia would ban worship in residential complexes

By Edward Ross

Christian leaders in Russia are concerned about a bill introduced in parliament that would ban religious services in residential complexes, a publication based in Germany reported.
3 Dec, 2024 11:44 EST

Middle East Religious Freedom

Christian mother faces danger in Iran after Türkiye’s deportation order

By Edward Ross

Authorities in Türkiye have ordered the deportation of a Christian refugee back to Iran, where the pregnant mother would be in serious danger after having fled her country due to arrests for participation in church, sources said.
30 Nov, 2024 06:11 EST

Middle East Religious Freedom

Christians in Iran tortured amid charges of promoting non-Islamic religion

By Edward Ross

Three Christians in Iran were tortured before their release on bail on Nov. 17 amid charges of propagating religion contrary to Islam, a religious rights group reported.
22 Nov, 2024 06:11 EST

Asia Religious Freedom

Amid persecution of clergy in China, bishop speaks only of ‘Sinicization’

By Edward Ross

With 10 Catholic bishops in China in detention, “disappeared” or forced from their positions, the government-installed bishop of Shanghai at a conference this month spoke only on President Xi Jinping’s “Sinicization” of religion, without mentioning hoped-for pastoral plans.
9 Nov, 2024 07:11 EST

Asia Religious Freedom

Religious persecution high in Burma despite mounting junta losses

By Edward Ross

Persecution of Christians and other religious minorities in Burma (Myanmar) has continued even as the country’s military junta has lost control and territory to armed resistance groups, according to a report last week by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).
1 Nov, 2024 08:11 EDT

Middle East Religious Freedom

Global tensions heighten persecution of Christians as IDOP prompts prayer on Sunday, Nov. 3 & Nov. 10

By Edward Ross

This year’s International Day of Prayer (IDOP) for the persecuted church comes as worldwide tensions have turned up pressure on Christians, challenging the global Body of Christ to keep pace in aid and supplication. As Christians are focused on IDOP prayer for the persecuted on both Sunday (Nov. 3) and Nov. 10, tensions that have spiked in the Middle East since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas terror attack on Israel have inflamed Islamic extremist sentiment against Christ followers, said an official with
16 Oct, 2024 12:53 EDT

Africa Religious Freedom

Christians caught between warring Islamist factions in Sudan

By Edward Ross

Christians in Sudan are caught between two fighting factions, with each military group accusing them of siding with the other, an advocacy group said.
14 Oct, 2024 12:21 EDT

Asia Religious Freedom

Church leaders in China face criminal charges, harassment

By Edward Ross

Authorities in China on Tuesday (Oct. 8) released on bail a church leader jailed since August 2023 for printing Bibles, while the Christian co-founder of a special children’s school has been arrested on charges of “inciting disturbances” for his human rights activism.
8 Oct, 2024 16:10 EDT

Asia Religious Freedom

China and North Korea partner to persecute Christians, experts say

By Edward Ross

China has subjected hundreds of North Koreans to atrocities since last year by forcibly returning them to a country whose leaders hold that religion, especially Christianity, is the greatest threat to its power, experts said at a recent U.S. hearing.
18 Sep, 2024 13:15 EDT

Asia Religious Freedom

Religious rights gains in Vietnam have deteriorated, report says

By Edward Ross

Two decades after the U.S. government designated Vietnam as Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for tolerating or engaging in religious rights violations, religious freedom has deteriorated despite the designation’s initial successes, a new report states.

Edward Ross

Grupo de Marcas