religious persecution
Targeting believers systematically
Religious persecution is the systematic mistreatment of people because of their faith—or their lack of one.
It ranges from social discrimination to imprisonment, torture, and execution.
Governments may persecute minority religions, or dominant religious groups may persecute dissenters and nonbelievers.
The Puritans fled religious persecution in England only to practice it themselves in Massachusetts.
Sustained, probing investigation
- pogromViolent persecution of minorities
- witch-huntPersecution of supposed subversives
- auto-da-féInquisition execution ritual
- purgeEliminate unwanted elements
expulsion · banishment · ghettoization · excommunication · proscription · ethnic cleansing · forced conversion · diaspora
Intolerance toward differing views
- sectarianismPrejudiced loyalty to subgroups
- prejudicePreformed unfavorable opinion
- fanaticismObsessive, unreasoning dedication
- fundamentalismStrict adherence to core tenets
xenophobia · antisemitism · discrimination · hostility · animosity · hatred · demonization · vilification
Suffering for conviction
- catacombsUnderground cemetery passages
- samizdatClandestine dissident publishing
- sanctuaryProtected sacred space
- refugePlace of safety
asylum · emigration · apostasy · recantation · defiance · civil disobedience · emancipation
Coerced change of faith
- proselytizeAdvocate one's beliefs
- indoctrinateImplant fixed beliefs
- compelForce to act
- coerceObtain by intimidation
pressure · intimidate · threaten · subjugate · suppress · censor · prohibit · confiscate
Being barred from participation
- segregationForced separation by group
- ostracismBanishment from a group
- ghettoizationForced residential segregation
- discriminationUnjust differential treatment
disenfranchisement · restrictions · quotas · social isolation · property seizure · travel restrictions
inquisition
Sustained, probing investigation
- pogromViolent persecution of minorities
- witch-huntPersecution of supposed subversives
- auto-da-féInquisition execution ritual
purge · expulsion · banishment · ghettoization · excommunication · proscription · ethnic cleansing · forced conversion · diaspora · exile
bigotry
Intolerance toward differing views
- sectarianismPrejudiced loyalty to subgroups
- prejudicePreformed unfavorable opinion
- fanaticismObsessive, unreasoning dedication
fundamentalism · xenophobia · antisemitism · discrimination · hostility · animosity · hatred · demonization · vilification · scapegoating
martyrdom
Suffering for conviction
- catacombsUnderground cemetery passages
- samizdatClandestine dissident publishing
- sanctuaryProtected sacred space
refuge · asylum · emigration · apostasy · recantation · defiance · civil disobedience · emancipation
forced conversion
Coerced change of faith
- proselytizeAdvocate one's beliefs
- indoctrinateImplant fixed beliefs
- compelForce to act
coerce · pressure · intimidate · threaten · subjugate · suppress · censor · prohibit · confiscate · iconoclasm
exclusion
Being barred from participation
- segregationForced separation by group
- ostracismBanishment from a group
- ghettoizationForced residential segregation
discrimination · disenfranchisement · restrictions · quotas · social isolation · property seizure · travel restrictions
- discriminationracism, systemic discrimination, Jim Crow laws, sexism, racial harassment
- monasticismabbeys, abbey, abbots, abbot, cloister
- religious historyChristian history, Jewish history, early Christianity, early church, church councils
- martyrdommartyrs, martyr, Christian martyrs, Catholic martyrs, Stephen
- oppressionoppression, tyranny, racism, repression, secret police
- persecutionHolocaust, pogrom, genocide, pogroms, ethnic cleansing
religious persecutionreligious freedom
Right to practice faith
religious liberty · freedom of worship · religious tolerance · freedom of conscience · freedom of religion
religious persecutionseparation of church and state
Constitutional religious neutrality principle
religion, religious, persecute, religions, persecution, persecuted, nonreligious, irreligious, persecutor