Enemies of Religious Freedom

The BBC has a report on the U.S. State Department's new survey of freedom of religion, or its absence, around the world. See this link. The only thing worth noting here is that, with one exception, the oppressors of religious freedom are not those mean old "militant atheists" we hear about lately, but people of faith themselves. The exception is in China, and the object of their oppression is Falun Gong, which Americans might be more willing to categorize as an "evil cult" if they were all over their country. I say that not to indict Falun Gong, but as a reminder that the U.S. has had regrettable encounters with cults in the recent past. In any event, even in China the oppression of religion isn't general, even though Catholics have a beef with that country's attitude toward the Vatican. I propose that people of all faiths might feel safer under a government that was avowedly atheist, because such a state would have no interest in whose doctrine is best suited for national salvation. They might not be happy with people openly debunking their dogmas, but who's more likely to persecute you? Someone who thinks you're a heretic, or someone who thinks you're a fool?