The UN’s latest discussions on freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) once again revealed two troubling trends: Hungary’s continued refusal to address serious religious discrimination, and the misuse of the FoRB space by multiple states to wage geopolitical battles, rather than advocate for the protection of religious minorities.
While the Special Rapporteur on FoRB, Nazila Ghanea, presented a detailed report outlining systemic religious discrimination in Hungary, the Hungarian government dismissed the findings outright—choosing instead to attack the credibility of the UN mechanism. Meanwhile, instead of engaging with substantive solutions for persecuted religious communities, several countries hijacked the discussion to settle political scores, reducing the debate into a diplomatic mudslinging contest.
Hungary’s Religious Discrimination: A Systemic Problem
The Special Rapporteur’s report—which followed an official UN visit to Hungary in October 2024—painted a deeply troubling picture of how Hungary systematically restricts religious freedom through a biased legal framework, targeted harassment, and preferential state funding. Among the most glaring examples:
- The 2011 Church Law, which reduced the number of officially recognized churches from 350 to just 14 overnight, stripping many religious groups of legal status and financial support. Today, only 32 groups enjoy “established church” status, while others must rely on a parliamentary vote to gain recognition—a politicized and arbitrary process.
- The Hungarian Evangelical Fellowship (MET), led by Pastor Gábor Iványi, was stripped of its legal status in 2011 and has since lost state funding for its schools, homeless shelters, and social programs. Despite winning a case against Hungary at the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in 2014, MET has still not regained full recognition or financial support. Meanwhile, MET institutions serving Hungary’s poorest communities are on the brink of closure.
- State funding is overwhelmingly allocated to Christian churches, particularly the Roman Catholic Church, the Reformed Church of Hungary, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church. In 2018 alone, the government allocated approximately 14 billion HUF ($50 million USD) to these groups, while smaller religious organizations—especially those outside the Christian mainstream—receive little or no state support.
- The Church of Scientology has faced direct government harassment, including police raids, unjustified denials of occupancy permits, and the seizure of religious records. The Special Rapporteur highlighted this as a clear case of state repression against a minority religious group.
- Religious education in public schools is increasingly restricted to Christian teachings, with church-run schools receiving far greater funding than secular or non-Christian institutions. In some rural areas, church schools are the only option, but they can legally refuse students based on religious affiliation—leading to the de facto exclusion of Roma children and other minorities.
Hungary presents itself internationally as a defender of Christianity, often invoking religion as a tool of national identity and state power, but this privileged treatment only extends to select Christian denominations. The government’s actions do not reflect a commitment to religious freedom, but rather an instrumentalization of religion for political control.
Hungary’s Response: Deflection and Denial
Rather than engaging with the Special Rapporteur’s findings, Hungary attacked the legitimacy of the UN human rights mechanisms. It dismissed the report as “politically biased” and denied any systemic discrimination, arguing that Hungary is “one of the safest places for Jews” and that religious minorities face no state-imposed restrictions.
However, Hungary’s own track record contradicts these claims. The ECtHR has repeatedly ruled against Hungary for violating religious freedom and non-discrimination standards. Furthermore, the Special Rapporteur’s findings align with numerous reports from the European Union, human rights NGOs, and even Hungary’s own religious minorities.
The UN FoRB Session: A Platform for Political Infighting
While Hungary’s refusal to engage was disappointing, the bigger failure of the session was how multiple countries used the FoRB platform to settle geopolitical disputes rather than advocate for real religious freedom.
- Russia and Georgia clashed over religious repression in Russian-occupied territories.
- Azerbaijan and Armenia turned the discussion into a battle over war crimes, rather than focusing on religious persecution.
- Palestine, Israel, and Arab states dominated the session with debates over the Occupied Palestinian Territories, rather than engaging with the global religious freedom crisis.
These issues are important, but their one-sided introduction in a forum dedicated to broad religious freedom concerns resulted in diverting attention away from systemic religious discrimination worldwide. Instead of pushing for concrete solutions for persecuted religious minorities, the debate became a stage for international grievances and political score-settling.
The Real Victims: Religious Minorities Left Behind
Lost in this diplomatic theater were the real victims of religious discrimination—those facing persecution, coercion, and systemic marginalization.
- Muslims in Hungary face widespread discrimination and high-level government rhetoric that fuels Islamophobia, often linking Muslim refugees to “threats against Christian Europe.”
- Jewish communities still encounter rising antisemitic hate speech, despite Hungary’s claims of a “zero-tolerance policy” on antisemitism.
- Non-religious individuals, atheists, and humanists remain invisible in public policy, with government funding and legal privileges favoring religious groups.
- Prisoners and detainees often face restrictions on religious observance, with Muslim, Jewish, and minority Christian prisoners denied appropriate diets, chaplaincy services, and religious accommodations.
The UN FoRB space should be dedicated to addressing these urgent realities, rather than serving as a battleground for political attacks between states.
Governments Must Stop Politicizing Religious Freedom
States like Hungary refuse to acknowledge their own religious discrimination, while others use the forum to attack political rivals rather than protect religious minorities.
The Special Rapporteur’s report was clear: Hungary’s legal system discriminates against religious minorities, and urgent reforms are needed. Yet, without genuine international pressure, Hungary will continue to ignore its obligations.
At the same time, other countries must stop hijacking human rights discussions for political theater. If states truly care about religious freedom, they must use these forums to advocate for persecuted communities, rather than wasting time on diplomatic point-scoring.
Religious discrimination is not a political game. Until governments start taking it seriously, the victims of religious repression will continue to suffer—ignored, silenced, and abandoned on the world stage.
