Press Release

The 2009 Annual Religious Freedom Report:
U.S. Encourages Nations to Protect Religious Freedom, Promote Tolerance

November 4, 2009

The U.S. Department of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor last week released the 2009 International Religious Freedom Report. The report records the status of respect for religious freedom in all countries during the period from July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009.

The Annual Report’s primary focus is on the actions of governments, including those that contribute to religious repression or tolerate violence against religious minorities as well as those that protect and promote religious freedom. Each country report contains sections covering the country’s religious demography; government respect for religious freedom (including the legal and policy framework, restrictions on religious freedom, abuses of religious freedom; and improvements and positive developments); societal respect for religious freedom; and U.S. Government policy and actions.

As President Obama said, “People in every country should be free to choose and live their faith based upon the persuasion of the mind and the heart and the 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.

In 2009 Annual Report there was no change in the status of respect for religious freedom by the Tanzanian Government compared to the previous reporting period. However, there were a few reports of societal abuses or discrimination based on religious affiliation, belief or practice, including, specifically, some persisting tensions between Muslims and Christians. Tanzania section of the report can be viewed at: http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2009/127259.htm

The full 2009 Annual Report can be viewed at http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2009/index.htm