religious minorities
Non-dominant faith groups
Religious minorities are groups whose faith differs from the dominant or official religion of a region or country.
The term encompasses both small populations within larger societies—Jews in medieval Europe, Christians in modern Iran—and members of sects diverging from mainstream traditions: Ahmadi Muslims face persecution as a religious minority in Pakistan.
The designation often implies vulnerability to discrimination or legal restrictions, though some religious minorities hold disproportionate cultural or economic influence.
- constitutional guaranteesProtections enshrined in founding law
- protected statusFormally shielded classification
- persecutionSystematic mistreatment of groups
- second-class citizensThose facing systemic discrimination
- hate crimesOffenses targeting protected characteristics
forced conversion · holy sites · Jewish diaspora · Copts · discrimination · marginalization · genocide · Rohingya · exile · Sikhs · Uyghurs · safe haven · asylum seekers · freedom of worship · sectarianism · ethnic cleansing · interfaith dialogue · anti-discrimination policies
- religionChristianity, Islam, beliefs, Judaism, Hinduism
- minoritiesethnic minorities, Roma, Kurds, Uyghurs, Catalans
- Persecuted GroupsJews, Romani, Roma, Armenians, Rohingya
- religious issueschurch and state, interfaith, blasphemy laws, prayer in schools, conscientious objection
- social equityracial justice, disability rights, racial equity, diversity training, intersectionality
- marginalized groupsminorities, ethnic minorities, people of color, disabled, LGBTQ
religious minoritiesestablished church
Officially recognized national religion
state religion · national church · state church · religious establishment
religious, religion, religions, religiously, religiosity, irreligious, minority, minor, minors