While some countries have a high degree of religious tolerance,[7] others have significant levels of Anti-Muslim and anti-Jewish sentiments in the general populace,[11] as well as discrimination against Jehovah's Witnesses, at times resulting in religiously-motivated physical violence or vandalism.
[28] NGOs, academics, and government agencies reported the continued association of each of the country's major political parties with the religion practiced by the dominant ethnic group among its membership.
[28] According to nongovernmental organizations, provisions of the law regarding the religious education of returnee children remained unimplemented, particularly in segregated school systems, often at the behest of senior government authorities seeking to obstruct the process.
[28] In October 2016 the Bosniak-dominated Sarajevo Canton Assembly renamed a street and an elementary school after Mustafa Busuladzic, a World War II-era anti-Semite who glorified Hitler.
[30] In 2022, there were reports of societal abuses or discrimination based on religious affiliation, belief, or practice; in particular, there was an increasing number of anti-Semitic hate speech and graffiti, as well as vandalism against mosques and attacks on Jehovah's Witnesses.
The booklet summarized traditionalist doctrine on marriage and sexual matters; this included the statement that Leviticus 18:22, which instructs the reader to murder people who engage in homosexual behaviour, is the word of Christ.
[70][71] On 14 September 2010, an act of parliament was passed resulting in the ban on the wearing of face-covering headgear, including masks, helmets, balaclava, niqābs and other veils covering the face in public places, except under specified circumstances.
Despite this, the government has selectively enforced some of these provisions, and significant portions of the country's population harbor anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim sentiments, with both communities facing harassment, discrimination, and violence.
Religious organizations acquire incorporated church status through an application submitted to the Ministry of Human Capacities and, if found eligible, by a subsequent two-thirds vote of parliament.
[6] There have been numerous reports of perceived anti-Muslim rhetoric by government officials and politicians, including Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and other prominent members of the ruling Fidesz party.
[6] Prime Minister Orbán has also made several public statements which have been called anti-Semitic by various sources, including Vice-President of the European Commission Frans Timmermans and the Federation of Jewish Communities in Hungary.
[106] The Pristina Municipality, citing the lack of a construction permit, has prevented Serbian Orthodox monks from cleaning and making light repairs at the unfinished St. Saviors Church after vandals set fire to it in 2016.
[106] Leaders of different religious groups reported generally good relations with one another and participated in numerous interfaith discussions on property rights, legislative priorities, and local community issues.
[106] The former head imam of the Grand Mosque of Pristina, Shefqet Krasniqi, was charged by the Special Prosecution Office for using his sermons to encourage people to travel to conflict zones such as Iraq and Syria to incite terror.
There are instances of anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim sentiment, particularly on the internet, and nationalist groups host commemorations of Latvian participation in the Waffen-SS in World War II on a yearly basis.
[108] The law stipulates foreign missionaries may be issued a residency permit, hold meetings, and proselytize only if a registered domestic religious group invites them to conduct such activities.
Despite the talks, the government did not take any additional steps to restitute property in accordance with the 2009 Terezin Declaration, which called for measures to provide for assistance, redress, and remembrance for victims of Nazi persecution.
Laws protect the practice of religion, and the government actively engages in restitution to religious organizations which had property confiscated during the Soviet era, as well as financial compensation to the Jewish community for its suffering during The Holocaust.
The decision was made the night before the September swearing-in ceremony for new attorneys admitted to the bar, and the following morning, a female candidate was asked to remove her head covering if she wanted to be sworn in.
[2] The criminal code prohibits individuals from wearing “masks or disguises” in public, unless explicitly allowed by law; there is no specific reference – or exception – to coverings worn for religious reasons.
[2] In October 2017, the University of Malta released a study conducted under the auspices of the EU-supported C.O.N.T.A.C.T (Creating an Online Network, Monitoring Team and Phone App to Counter Hate Crime Tactics), an anti-hate-speech project.
The study, which analyzed online reactions to local news portals and relied on questionnaires and interviews, concluded the most prevalent discriminatory attitudes in the country were against Muslim migrants, particularly those who did not have legal resident status.
Religious groups are required to register in order to own property and publish literature, and they are monitored by the Ministry of Justice to ensure that they comply with activities and goals described during their registration.
[138] From the 16th to 19th centuries, Norway (under either a Danish or Swedish crown) forced the Sámi people of northeastern Scandinavia to convert to Christianity, suppressing and eventually all but eradicating their indigenous religion.
[141] Toward the end of the 20th century and in the 21st, Norwegian government has adopted some constitutional reforms to recognize the traditions of the Sámi people,[142] to establish a separation between church and state,[143] and to provide financial restitution for the Jewish community,[144] but it has also imposed religious clothing bans targeting Muslim women.
[156] Article 13 of the Portuguese Constitution states, in part, that "No one may be privileged, favored, prejudiced, deprived of any right or exempted from any duty for reasons of ancestry, sex, race, language, territory of origin, religion, political or ideological beliefs, education, economic situation, social circumstances or sexual orientation.
[164] Although Jews living in territories belonging to Romania prior to the beginning of the war largely avoided this fate, they nevertheless faced harsh antisemitic laws passed by the Antonescu government.
[164] During the Socialist era following World War II, the Romanian government exerted significant control over the Orthodox Church and closely monitored religious activity, as well as promoting atheism among the population.
Starting in the 21st century, the Catholic Church began to reassert itself in politics, but no longer as a purportedly neutral actor, instead openly aligning with the right-wing People's Party, to the detriment of its influence among left-wing constituencies.
[206] During World War II, Jews were massacred by Nazi and Ukrainian nationalist factions, while the Soviet government deported Muslim Crimean Tatars, primarily to Uzbekistan.