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https://theconversation.com/religious-freedom-is-routinely-curbed-in-central-asia-but-you-wont-often-see-it-making-international-news-248740>
"Freedom of worship is tenuous around the globe. The Pew Research Center’s
latest annual report found “high” or “very high” levels of government
constraints on religion in 59 of the 198 countries and territories it analyzed
– a new record. When Pew began releasing reports on the issue in 2007, just 40
countries’ restrictions on religion were classified that way.
And trampling of religious practices is a taboo subject for domestic news media
in many, if not most, of such countries.
As a journalism professor, I’ve studied international press practices and
obstacles to fair, balanced, ethical and independent reporting for more than
two decades. Much of my work is about press rights in “repressitarian”
countries, meaning repressive in human rights practices and authoritarian in
governance. I see overlaps among a range of human rights abuses – of freedom of
expression, of religion, of political affiliation – and how the absence of
press freedom shields those abuses from public scrutiny.
The latest study I did with my undergraduate research assistant, Eleanor Pugh,
examined how one news organization,
Forum 18, covers constraints on religion
in the five post-Soviet countries of remote but strategically important Central
Asia. Based in Norway, the independent site is named after Article 18 of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which recognizes a fundamental right to
“freedom of thought, conscience and religion.”
Forum 18 appears to be the only news outlet that specializes in coverage of
the rights of diverse faiths across the former Soviet Union. Its journalism
demonstrates the challenges media outlets have in covering and influencing
treatment of religious affiliations and observances in the region."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
