In light of the seemingly growing persecution of religious communities worldwide, the Universal Peace Federation Munich dedicated its monthly Prayer Breakfast on Saturday, April 18, 2026, to the topic of “Interreligious prayers for the religiously persecuted and religious freedom”.
After the welcome and introduction, the moderator addressed the persecution of religious communities in European and Middle Eastern history. He noted that the persecution and oppression of religious communities is probably as old as the history of religions themselves. Religious minorities or newly emerging religions have often found it difficult to prevail against the dominant mainstream.
Furthermore, he referred to the current global situation of persecution:
- Freedom of religion is restricted or not guaranteed in many parts of the world.
- Around 5.4 billion people (approximately two-thirds of the world's population) live in countries with restricted freedom of religion.
- In 24 countries, there is particularly severe persecution (the "highest category").
Religious persecution affects all of the world religions, but to varying degrees depending on the region. Jews, Christians, and Muslims are particularly affected, as illustrated by various examples. Participants then shared their own experiences of this in their lives.
Finally, we offered prayers from different traditions and placed a rose in a vase for the health and full rehabilitation of all those persecuted, especially Dr. Hak Ja Han, the co-founder of UPF.