The biannual conference on Persecution of Christians was held at the Schönblick Kongress in Schwäbisch Gmünd (Germany) from 10-13 November 2019. Dennis P. Petri, the director of the Observatory of Religious Freedom in Latin America, gave a conference about “Challenges to Religious Freedom: The persecution of Christians in Latin America.” He also gave a workshop …
Last July 2019, the Bishop of Truro’s Independent Review of Christian Persecution was presented to the Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom. The document highlights the extent and nature of the global persecution of Christians, evaluates the United Kingdom’s foreign policy in this regard, and provides recommendations. The Observatory for Religious Freedom in Latin America …
During the last decades of the twentieth century, indigenous movements emerged throughout Latin America. This unprecedented mobilization of indigenous groups, often referred to as indigenismo, had major political consequences. The indigenismo movement led to the first official recognition of the ethnic diversity of Colombia, as well as far-reaching self-administration rights. In Colombia, indigenous autonomy is far-reaching, but not …
World Watch Monitor interviewed Dennis P. Petri about religious freedom in Mexico. The interview led to the production of the following articles: In choosing Christianity, Mexican tribals risk alienation, eviction from their communities Christians easy targets in Mexico’s lawless borderlands Majority-Christian Mexico still struggling to ensure religious freedom for rural converts Excerpts of the interview …
Professor Dennis P. Petri was invited as guest lecturer during the week of 20-24 March 2017 for the Postgraduate Degree on “Constitutional State and Religious Freedom”, hosted by a consortium of academic institutions composed of ANAJURE, Mackenzie Presbyterian University (São Paulo, Brazil), Institute Ius Gentium Conimbrigae – Center for Human Rights of the University of …
1. What does persecution in Latin America look like? Persecution of Christians in Latin America is a complex picture and results from the interplay between an overall lack of security and social exclusion, experienced by the majority of Latin American citizens. The high degree of violence particularly affects Christians who are perceived to be a …
Based on our research findings about the persecution of actively practicing Christians by organized crime in Mexico, stabilization mechanisms can be developed to reduce their vulnerability to human security threats. This examination of stabilization mechanisms should be read as an exploration of possible avenues to reduce risk and increase resilience. Reducing risks caused by external …
The transcript of Dennis P. Petri’s testimony at the hearing on “Challenges to Religious Freedom in the Americas” before the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the US House of Representatives of 17 September 2015 is now available. You can access it here. Watch the video recording of the hearing …
Organized crime People who practice their religious faith in Latin America – whether they are Pentecostal preachers or devout Catholic priests such as Jorge Mario Bergoglio, now of course famous as Pope Francis – can be restricted by organized crime. The main feature of organized crime is the creation of a climate of impunity, anarchy …
Freedom of religion has many components. The UN Human Rights Committee in its General Comment 22 says freedom of religion, as provided under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, is “far-reaching and profound.” According to the Committee, the right “encompasses freedom of thought on all matters, personal conviction and the commitment to religion …
