The religious right is gaining ground, and free expression cannot survive in its shadow. A loose coalition of theologically and politically conservative faith groups successfully pushed for the overturning of Roe vs Wade in the USA last year; in January, Pakistan extended its already harsh blasphemy laws; this August, Denmark proposed a law to make improper treatment of the Koran or the Bible a criminal offence punishable by up to two years in jail; a fast-growing group of religious conservatives allied with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is currently trying to neuter the country's Supreme Court. While the religions are different, they all bear a strong family resemblance. Embattlement is at the core, with followers engaged in a conflict with enemies whose values seem inimical to theirs. Identities are built around a reclamation of certain doctrines and practices of the past. These meld with the best tools of modernity and appeal to modern ideals of religious freedom. Here, though, religious freedom is enlisted to support an antidemocratic project. Free expression is lost.
The Index on Censorship believes in independent reporting around the world. They have contributing editors and correspondents filing from Mexico, China, South Korea, the USA, Italy, Yemen, Iraq and Turkey.
