Press Releases

Release of the U.S. Department of State’s Annual Report on
International Religious Freedom

October 27, 2009

The U.S. Department of State released the eleventh annual International Religious Freedom Report to Congress on Monday, October 26, 2009.

The Annual Report on International Religious Freedom contains an introduction, executive summary, and a chapter describing the status of religious freedom in each of the 198 countries throughout the world.  The report is a public document available online on the websites: www.state.gov/g/drl/irf and http://mauritius.usembassy.gov/.

As President Obama said in his landmark speech in June 2009 at Cairo University, “People in every country should be free to choose and live their faith based upon the persuasion of the mind and the heart and soul.  This tolerance is essential for religion to thrive, but it’s being challenged in many different ways.”

The Annual Report surveys those "many different ways" in 198 countries and territories. Covering both deteriorations and improvements in the status of governmental and societal respect for religious freedom, the Annual Report aims to be comprehensive and balanced, considering the diversity and dynamism of the world's religious traditions and socio-political contexts.  Despite the varied conditions religious communities encounter around the globe, the principled and practical reasons for safeguarding their freedom remain the same: religious freedom is a fundamental right, a social good, a source of stability, and a key to international security.

Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Michael Posner said, in his introductory statement at the release of the International Religious Freedom Report 2009, “It is our hope that the Annual Report stimulates global dialogue and inspires cooperative action leading to a more just and secure world.”