The ubiquitous anti-blasphemy laws are used to threaten women activists with the death penalty, using fabricated evidence.
Massimo Introvigne
Department of State Religious Freedom Report: China Is Guilty of “Crimes against Humanity”
The Department of State releases its yearly religious liberty report: China (with 85 quotes from Bitter Winter), Russia, Pakistan are severely criticized.
Religiocide: How to Kill a Religion
A new book discusses how religions end. Some are killed—by democratic states.
Corruption in China: Worse Under Xi Jinping
Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaigns actually increased corruption in China. New scholarly studies explain why.
Pakistan: Christians Under Attack at Lahore Psychiatric Hospital
A nurse was accused of blasphemy for her criticism of the government’s reaction to the European Parliament motion censoring the country.
“Sect Filters” in Germany: Institutionalizing the Anti-Cult Narrative
German citizens should sign declarations that they did not and will not participate in any Scientology-related activity before obtaining some public and private jobs.
Russian Hindus Prohibited from Celebrating Maha Shivratri Festival
A woman who organized the Maha Shivratri festival in Udmurtia, Central Russia, was charged for “illegal missionary activity.”
European Parliament: Pakistan Blasphemy Law Incompatible with Trade Benefits
A motion asks the Commission to reconsider the privileged GSP+ status accorded to the country, because of its gross violations of religious liberty.
Xi Jinping: “Marxism Is Winning the Global Ideological War”
New book on Xi’s thought shows that he still sees the world as the arena of a struggle between Communism and Anti-Communism.
Virgin of Guadalupe Mural Vandalized in Los Angeles
The incident is part of an alarming series of attacks against Catholic statues and churches in the United States.
Massimo Introvigne
Massimo Introvigne (born June 14, 1955 in Rome) is an Italian sociologist of religions. He is the founder and managing director of the Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR), an international network of scholars who study new religious movements. Introvigne is the author of some 70 books and more than 100 articles in the field of sociology of religion. He was the main author of the Enciclopedia delle religioni in Italia (Encyclopedia of Religions in Italy). He is a member of the editorial board for the Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion and of the executive board of University of California Press' Nova Religio. From January 5 to December 31, 2011, he has served as the "Representative on combating racism, xenophobia and discrimination, with a special focus on discrimination against Christians and members of other religions" of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). From 2012 to 2015 he served as chairperson of the Observatory of Religious Liberty, instituted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in order to monitor problems of religious liberty on a worldwide scale.