Governments Worldwide Have Repeatedly Leveraged Religion As A Tool Of Power, - Source Excerpt 02 - Case Studies by Country
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- **Immigration and Asylum Practices:** Government policies on immigration often use religion as a proxy. The 2017 U.S. ban on travelers from several Muslim-majority countries – a policy widely decried as a “Muslim ban” – explicitly curtailed asylum claims from those populations【14†L51-L60】. India’s crackdown treated Hindu-majority refugees leniently while expelling Bengali Muslims as “illegal immigrants”【4†L637-L645】. Some countries deny asylum to asylum-seekers from particular faith groups (e.g. rejecting converts). Such practices weaponize state borders to exclude “others.”
These mechanisms are often deployed in combination. The flowchart below illustrates how a government might channel policies and propaganda to target specific groups, resulting in disenfranchisement or displacement:
' ' ' mermaid
flowchart LR
subgraph Government_Action
G[State Authority]
end
G -->|Enacts Laws & Policies| L[Discriminatory Laws]
G -->|Spreads Ideology| P[Propaganda / Religious Rhetoric]
G -->|Controls Institutions| F[Funding / Co-optation of Religious Bodies]
G -->|Monitors Belief| S[Surveillance & Policing]
G -->|Sets Immigration Policy| I[Immigration / Asylum Controls]
L & P & F & S & I --> Targets
subgraph Targets
M[Religious Minorities]
D[Dissenters / Secularists]
O[Other Marginalized Groups]
end
M & D & O -->|Effects| Outcomes[Reduced Rights, Forced Assimilation, Violence]
' ' '
## Case Studies by Country
### United States (contemporary)
**Context:** The U.S. Constitution mandates separation of church and state, yet recent years have seen a rise in **Christian nationalism** and faith-based policy. Experts warn this ideology promotes bias: a 2022 analysis called it “the single biggest threat to religious freedom” in America【12†L295-L304】.
**Mechanisms:** Politicians and courts have enacted religion-linked policies. The Trump Administration’s **2017 travel ban** banned entry from seven Muslim-majority countries (Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Yemen) and halted Syrian refugee resettlement【14†L51-L60】. Although revised and partly curtailed by courts, a third version was upheld in 2018【14†L51-L60】. Domestically, numerous state legislatures have proposed “Bible in schools” laws or mandated “In God We Trust” in classrooms – symbolic moves entwining Christianity with civic identity【12†L295-L304】. Meanwhile, Supreme Court shifts have expanded “religious freedom” claims, allowing taxpayer funds to flow to sectarian schools and easing government prayer【12†L337-L346】【15†L37-L40】.
**Targets:** These policies disproportionately affect **Muslims and other non-Christian minorities**, as well as secular dissenters. The travel ban explicitly targeted Muslims (it even was dubbed a “Muslim ban”). At home, increased Islamic profiling and anti-Sharia laws in some states have fed Islamophobia. Christian nationalist rhetoric explicitly lumps together anti-Muslim and antisemitic threats【12†L305-L309】. LGBTQ people are also targeted under “religious freedom” statutes, framed as a defense of Christian morality (we note although not religious groups per se, here religion is used to justify punitive policy).
**Outcomes:** Effects include community fear and documented bias. For example, anti-Muslim hate crimes in the U.S. rose sharply during the 2020s (one report noted a ~70% jump in early 2024 amid global events)【39†L10-L14】. Legal outcomes have been mixed: courts often uphold religious-speech policies but block outright establishment (e.g. barring religion as criterion in public education). De facto, even symbolic measures (like invoking God in law) convey the message that non-Christians are outsiders.
### India
**Context:** Since 2014, the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has aggressively fused religion and state. The government denies or restricts the secular inclinations of constitution (e.g. refusing a uniform civil code) and uses Hindu identity to consolidate power.
**Mechanisms:** India has passed or applied **discriminatory laws** and policies. The 2019 Citizenship Amendment Act fast-tracks citizenship for non-Muslim immigrants from neighboring countries, explicitly excluding Muslims. Authorities have conducted raids claiming to target illegal immigrants, especially Muslims from Bangladesh or Rohingya seeking refuge【4†L637-L645】. State violence is often framed via religious rhetoric: government officials and Hindu groups have spread anti-Muslim hate speech, blaming minorities for social ills. Supreme Court rulings (e.g. on demolition of mosques) have at times been ignored by authorities【4†L664-L668】. Additionally, the government pressures media to avoid criticizing its Hindu-centric policies【4†L639-L647】.
**Targets:** Predominantly **Muslims and other religious minorities**. The March 2026 HRW report notes the government “vilified religious minorities” and expelled hundreds of Bengali-speaking Muslims and Rohingya refugees【4†L637-L645】. Christian and Sikh groups also report growing intimidation (though the largest focus is on Muslims). Prominent critics (secular activists, journalists) are charged under anti-terror laws or sedition using nationalist/religious justifications【4†L641-L649】【4†L674-L683】.
**Outcomes:** The campaign has led to rising communal violence and homelessness. Hundreds of cases document unlawful killings of Muslims in mob attacks, demolitions of majority-Muslim neighborhoods (often labeled “illegal” despite Supreme Court instructions to the contrary)【4†L664-L668】, and abuse of police powers against minorities. In 2025, authorities began forcibly detaining and deporting Rohingya refugees under the pretext of immigration control【4†L637-L645】. Domestic media self-censorship has increased, and critics often languish in jail under broad laws. The result is a shrinking of pluralism and widespread fear among Muslims and dissenters.
### China
**Context:** China is officially atheist, but the Communist Party tightly **manages religion**. Under Xi Jinping (since 2012), the state launched a major crackdown on Uyghur and other Muslim communities in Xinjiang (northwest China), justified as anti-terrorism.
**Mechanisms:** In Xinjiang, authorities built an extensive “re-education” camp system (often called concentration camps) starting around 2017【17†L64-L72】. Policies include mass detention (over 1 million Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims have been detained【17†L99-L107】), intense surveillance (biometric data collection, police checkpoints, neighborhood informants), and forced assimilation (banning veils and beards, demolishing mosques)【17†L112-L117】. China’s **Revised Regulations on Religious Affairs (2018)** mandate that all religion must be “sinicized” – i.e. conform to CCP ideology. Unregistered house churches (Protestant) and underground Catholics face raids. Even outside Xinjiang, Uyghurs risk screening at work and forced political education.
**Targets:** Primarily **Uyghur Muslims** (also Kazakh, Kyrgyz, and other largely Muslim minorities). Officially, the campaign is against “extremism,” but in practice peaceful religious expression (attending mosque, fasting Ramadan, using traditional names) is criminalized. Ethnic Kazakhs have also been caught up, as have some Tibetan Buddhists (in Tibet) under a similar “patriotic re-education” campaign.
**Outcomes:** The impacts are unprecedented: Human Rights Watch and UN experts have documented abuses that “may amount to crimes against humanity”【17†L99-L107】. Outside Xinjiang, strict oversight controls what few citizens survive the purge. The U.S. government has labeled China’s actions a **genocide**. Refugee flows have increased: thousands of Uyghurs have fled clandestinely to Central Asia and beyond. The Chinese model shows how advanced technology and totalitarian law can virtually eliminate a community’s cultural and religious life while justifying it as “public security.”
### Russia
**Context:** The Russian Constitution allows religious freedom but the state privileges the **Russian Orthodox Church** as a “traditional” faith. Vladimir Putin’s government has moved between suppressing and co-opting religion to reinforce state authority.
**Mechanisms:** Under Putin, the state struck deals with the Orthodox Church and officially recognized Muslim “spiritual directorates,” in effect subsidizing their activities【8†L432-L440】. This co-optation meant that in Russia’s Muslim-majority regions (Chechnya, Dagestan, etc.), local authorities now control religious life. Formally independent or “extremist” sects (Wahhabist or Salafist groups) are banned and persecuted. Dissenters (including liberal clergy or secular opponents) have been shut out or prosecuted under extremism laws.