Nicaragua has become one of the 20 most dangerous countries in the world for Christians, according to the International Christian Concern’s (ICC) <\/span>Global Religious Persecution Index<\/span><\/a>. The regime’s crackdown on religious groups is not an isolated campaign\u2014it mirrors a broader attack on civil liberties.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“As is the case in many communist countries, Nicaragua has come to view religion as an enemy of the state,” the ICC <\/span>notes<\/span><\/a> in its report. “[President Daniel] Ortega has led the country’s new antagonism toward the Church, which he sees as subversive to his claim to absolute power.”<\/span><\/p>\n

The <\/span>repression<\/span><\/a> began in 2018 when Ortega’s regime went after the Catholic Church for mediating between the state and anti-government <\/span>protesters<\/span><\/a>. Since then, targeted retaliation has grown into a full-scale assault on religious freedom.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“The government initially targeted the Catholic Church because it provided sanctuary to demonstrators, and clergy voiced opposition to the government’s human rights abuses,” <\/span>reports<\/span><\/a> the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. “More recently, the government’s actions have led to full-scale shuttering of the Church’s activities, mass imprisonments, and the targeting of multiple other religious groups.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, have <\/span>accused<\/span><\/a> church leaders of being “agents of evil” engaged in “spiritual terrorism.” They claim the clergy is inciting civil unrest and planning to overthrow the regime.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The consequences for religious groups\u2014Catholics and others\u2014have been devastating. Since 2018, over 1,100 religious entities have been forcibly <\/span>closed<\/span><\/a>, more than 70 individuals <\/span>detained<\/span><\/a> for their religious affiliations, and 84 priests forced into exile.<\/span><\/p>\n

Surveillance<\/span><\/a> and harassment of church leaders have become ubiquitous, with the Ministry of Interior imposing strict controls on religious activities and regulating visits from foreign clergy, according to the ICC. <\/span>Easter processions<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Christmas celebrations<\/span><\/a>, and even <\/span>cemetery prayers<\/span><\/a> have all been outlawed.<\/span><\/p>\n

The regime has <\/span>frozen<\/span><\/a> church bank accounts, confiscated properties, and shut down religious media outlets. Paramilitary groups aligned with the regime have desecrated churches, looted religious sites, and carried out arson attacks.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2023, Ortega escalated his campaign by <\/span>closing<\/span><\/a> the Vatican Embassy in Managua and expelling the papal ambassador after Pope Francis <\/span>likened<\/span><\/a> Nicaragua’s government to a dictatorship. By 2024, the regime had <\/span>dissolved<\/span><\/a> the Episcopal Diocese of Nicaragua along with 92 other religious organizations.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“Bishops and priests have been deprived of their freedom,” Pope Francis <\/span>said<\/span><\/a> in this year’s Angelus prayer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Attacking religious institutions is part of a larger strategy to crush dissent and consolidate power. Over the years, Ortega and Murillo have systematically <\/span>dismantled<\/span><\/a> democratic institutions, manipulated elections, compromised courts, and silenced critics through imprisonment, exile, and harassment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Educational and cultural freedoms have also been gutted. Since 2021, the government has <\/span>closed down<\/span><\/a> over 30 universities. Ortega <\/span>accused<\/span><\/a> the Jesuit University of Central America\u2014the first private university in the region\u2014of “terrorism,” forcing its closure and seizing its assets in 2023.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Since 2018, more than <\/span>5,000<\/span><\/a> nonprofit organizations\u2014including secular and religious groups\u2014have been shut down. The <\/span>closures<\/span><\/a> extend to groups like the Red Cross, Save the Children, the American Chamber of Commerce, foundations dedicated to fighting diseases, sports associations, rotary clubs, and even chess clubs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Independent media outlets have been shuttered and journalists face relentless harassment. Outlets have “continued to endure a nightmare of censorship, intimidation and threats,” according to <\/span>Reporters Without Borders.<\/span><\/a> In 2023, over <\/span>300<\/span><\/a> political figures, journalists, intellectuals, and human rights activists were accused of treason, stripped of their citizenship, and expelled from the country.<\/span><\/p>\n

Eighty percent of Nicaraguans <\/span>identify<\/span><\/a> as Christian, with half being Catholic and 30 percent evangelical. In a country deeply rooted in faith, Ortega’s attack on religion is a calculated effort to suffocate dissent and dismantle spaces of hope and community, tightening his grip on a nation with fewer places left to turn.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The post Nicaragua's Regime Wages War on Religious Freedom<\/a> appeared first on Reason.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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