Editing Freedom of religion (section)

==Measurement==
[[File:Religiousfreedom.png|thumb|upright=1.6|Freedom of religion by country (Pew Research Center study, 2009). Light yellow: low restriction; red: very high restriction on freedom of religion.]]
[[File:Blasphemy laws worldwide.svg|thumb|upright=1.6|right|[[Blasphemy law]]s
{{Col-begin}} {{Col-break}}  {{legend|#b9b9b9ff|None}} {{legend|#37c837|Historic restrictions}} {{legend|#f9dc36|Local restrictions}} 
{{Col-break}} {{legend|#ec8028|Fines and restrictions}} {{legend|#e73e21|Prison sentences}} {{legend|#800000|Death sentences}} {{Col-end}}]]
Religious freedom is measured in the non-profit organization [[Freedom House]]'s annual report, ''[[Freedom in the World]]''.

In its 2011 annual report, the ''[[United States Commission on International Religious Freedom]]'' designated fourteen nations as "countries of particular concern". The commission chairman commented that these are nations whose conduct marks them as the world's worst religious freedom violators and human rights abusers. The fourteen nations designated were [[Rohingya people|Burma]], China, Egypt, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam. Other nations on the commission's watchlist include Afghanistan, Belarus, Cuba, India, Indonesia, Laos, Russia, Somalia, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Venezuela.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=10154|title=US commission names 14 worst violators of religious freedom|access-date=11 July 2011|magazine=Christianity Today|date=29 April 2011}}<br />^ {{Cite press release|url=http://www.uscirf.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3595|title=USCIRF Identifies World's Worst Religious Freedom Violators: Egypt Cited for First Time|publisher=United States Commission on International Religious Freedom|date=28 April 2011|access-date=11 July 2011}}<br />
^ {{cite report|url=http://www.uscirf.gov/images/book%20with%20cover%20for%20web.pdf|title=Annual Report 2011|publisher=United States Commission on International Religious Freedom|date=May 2011|access-date=11 July 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111023101604/http://uscirf.gov/images/book%20with%20cover%20for%20web.pdf|archive-date=23 October 2011}}</ref>

There are concerns about the restrictions on public religious dress in some European countries (including the [[Hijab]], [[Kippah]], and [[Christian cross]]).<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.christiantoday.com/article/france.passes.religious.symbol.ban/17.htm|title=France Passes Religious Symbol Ban|access-date=29 April 2011|magazine=Christianity Today|date=9 February 2004}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5414098.stm|title=The Islamic veil across Europe
|access-date=2 December 2006|work=BBC News|date=17 November 2006}}</ref> Article 18 of the UN [[International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights]] limits restrictions on freedom to manifest one's religion or beliefs to those necessary to protect public safety, order, health, or morals or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others.<ref>{{Cite web|title=International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, G.A. res. 2200A (XXI), 21 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 16) at 52, U.N. Doc. A/6316 (1966), 999 U.N.T.S. 171, entered into force Mar. 23, 1976.|url=http://hrlibrary.umn.edu/instree/b3ccpr.htm|access-date=2023-01-02|website=hrlibrary.umn.edu}}</ref> Freedom of religion as a legal concept is related to, but not identical with, religious toleration, [[separation of church and state]], or [[secular state]] (''[[laïcité]]'').