President Barack Obama, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and other top republican lawmakers were behind the U.S. Department of Justice’s gathering of Associated Press reporters’ telephone records reported Monday, according to someone close to the matter.

Obama and Boehner met Monday with other top republicans, including Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., in what was called an “emergency briefing,” less than an hour after AP broke confirmed a DOJ probe, which gathered records for 20 phone lines, including cell phones, assigned to AP reporters over two months in early 2012.

Topics of the meeting weren’t disclosed and, although mainstream media reports have painted Obama as a recluse avoiding contact with Boehner and other republicans, sources say it was a regular occurrence for the group to gather in a confidential format.

Neither Obama nor his republican counterparts have thoroughly responded to the controversy, but the most recent emergency briefing is just one of many meetings held between the parties since… early 2012. The top secret group, consisting of Obama and between four and six top republicans, has been ominously dubbed “the protectors” by other lawmakers on Capitol Hill, according to a White House official who asked to remain anonymous.

Regardless of who was behind the probe, it’s important to look at what information the DOJ sought to glean from AP’s phone records.

AP reports:

Federal officials have said investigators are trying to hunt down the sources of information for a May 7, 2012, AP story that disclosed details of a CIA operation in Yemen to stop an airliner bomb plot around the anniversary of the killing of Osama bin Laden. The probe is being run out of the U.S. Attorney’s office in the District of Columbia.

But, in that same report:

In February, CIA Director John Brennan provided a less-than-ominous description of the plot in testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee. He told the panel that “there was never a threat to the American public as we had said so publicly, because we had inside control of the plot and the device was never a threat to the American public.”

So what were they really looking into? AP could have been investigating Obama and Boehner’s secret group, or perhaps they unwittingly stumbled upon something the group is tasked with silencing? In any case, the punishment was clear: outward violation of First Amendment rights.

Obama and Boehner

AP CEO Gary Pruitt complained that the affected reporters hadn’t received warning about the probe.

“There can be no possible justification for such an overbroad collection of the telephone communications of The Associated Press and its reporters,” Pruitt wrote. “These records potentially reveal communications with confidential sources across all of the newsgathering activities undertaken by the AP during a two-month period, provide a road map to AP’s newsgathering operations, and disclose information about AP’s activities and operations that the government has no conceivable right to know.”

Attorney General Eric Holder on Tuesday defended the DOJ’s accessing AP’s records, but declared he had played no role in it. Holder said it was justified as part of an investigation into a “grave national security leak.”

Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole also justified not disclosing the investigation.

“Because such disclosures can risk lives and cause grave harm to the security of all Americans, the Department thoroughly investigates cases in which government employees and contractors trusted with our nation’s secrets are suspected of willfully disclosing that information to individuals not entitled to them,” Cole said in a letter to Pruitt.

*This story is part of an experiment on the acceptance of conspiracy theories based on conjecture and little-to-no evidence.

Secular humanist activist Faisal Saeed Al Mutar grew up in Iraq as a common enemy in the ongoing civil war between Sunni and Shia Muslims. Now, he finds himself living in Texas, which is fraught with its own brand of religious zealotry.

Faisal founded the Global Secular Humanist Movement in September 2010. GSHM, which encourages humanist values, critical thinking and scientific inquiry over faith, mysticism and dogma, has more than 185,000 “likes” on Facebook.

Faisal also launched Secular Post in 2012.

“The mission of the project is to create an open-source journalism community for writers from around the world, to allow them to publish their ideas, thoughts, and opinions for the purpose of advancing the progress of humanity,” Faisal said.

Last year, I interviewed Faisal and he gave us his view of the powerful force of religion worldwide.

“I think religion’s power differs from a region to a region, the most extreme forces can be found in the Middle East or countries Like Pakistan, Uganda, etc.,” Faisal said last year. “But in places like Western Europe and North America, religion is on decline due to the rise of enlightenment and scientific development.”

Now, Faisal has lived in the United States for two months. He’s affiliated with a local secular group and has even given a speech for Houston Oasis, which calls itself “a community grounded in reason, celebrating the human experience.” I talked with Faisal to get an update on what he’s been up to since coming to America.

1. When we spoke almost a year ago, you were still living in Iraq, but you’ve since moved to Texas, which has its own reputation for religious extremism in the United States. What has the experience been like so far?

It’s wonderful so far, I have found a wonderful Humanist / Atheist community here in Houston where I live and they are really welcoming and smart people. I am also speaking in Humanists of Houston 18th of May 2013.

I think religious extremism in the United States can be compared to religious moderation to where I come from, so I have kind of different perception of what religious extremism really means.

2. Being a non-believer in Iraq, did you ever experience any discrimination or violence as a result of your lack of faith?

Certainly, I have been the target of many death threats, verbal and physical. I don’t know how I survived, but I did. I followed very cautious life style for the past 10 years in my life, which means almost half it, that I always keep my friends close and my enemies closer. I am lucky that I got accepted to U.S immigration on March 12^th, not another year or month or the next day! Things would be dramatically different if my asylum wasn’t accepted.

But it’s very fair to say that unfortunately in Iraq you may be threatened or killed or for many different reasons. I have lost my brother, my best friend and my cousin for various reasons.

Non-believers are not the only ones who are the target of terrorism, as you know I was living in a country that is still in a sectarian / religious civil war and most of the people killed belong to the two sides that are fighting (Sunnis and Shias) and we non-believers are somehow stuck in the middle in the conflict. They are both united (which is ironic) that we are somehow their enemy.

3. Last time we spoke, Global Secular Humanist Movement had just more than 84,000 fans and was quickly expanding on Facebook. What have you and GSHM been up to in the last year?

Starting in February 2012, I dedicated more time into the movement and how to spread the message globally – we had growth of almost 140,000 last year and we will continue doing that. I would like to give special thanks to all the people who supported the movement since the start and are supporting the movement now. I still remember the date when I first started it and I thought that I would be the only one there, now the movement has about 185,000+ fans from more than 50+ countries, I feel so honored to receive such a huge amount of support.

4. Almost all studies seem to show that religious affiliation is falling worldwide while secularism rises. What do you think of that trend and what can we do to encourage it?

I think that the majority of the world population now has more access to knowledge than before, there is in a correlation in my opinion between knowledge and how we view the world. The best way to encourage it would be to continue doing what we are doing and spread more knowledge about Humanism and Free thought, that’s what I would love to have an impact on and be part of the positive change in the globe.

5. You talk a lot about secular issues and about religion, but also about critical thinking and humanism. What would you say is the most important part of your work as an activist?

It is to communicate Humanism and make it a global language that everyone speaks and to advocate for Human rights and Human wellbeing globally. Global Secular Humanist Movement is the message and the platform to convey this message, everyone with a Humanist outlook is welcome to join and be part of global dialogue of how to make the world a better place.

6. Last year, you said you were working on a book called “Dogma.” Is that still the case? What can you tell us about the book?

It is still the case, the main reason why I am delaying is mostly financial as well as I would like to spend more time in the states and do more research to make sure that most if not all the arguments I am going to use in the book would be supported by huge amount of evidence. The book is about the dangers of unsubstantiated beliefs and how we as humans can live a better life without them, I am also going to write about my life in Iraq and the Iraq war as well as my views on certain topics related to science, philosophy and economics.

7. What other projects are you working on?

I am continuing on a project I started last year, The Secular Post. The mission of the project is to create an open-source journalism community for writers from all around the world, to allow them to publish their ideas, thoughts and opinions for the purpose of advancing the progress of humanity.

I also have new project coming soon with Alex Prodoehl from Colorado called Reasonify. The mission is to make reason and critical thinking a global language. I am looking forward to registering Global Secular Humanist Movement as a non-profit organization and I am looking for people to help me with that. I have been in the United States for two months so far but I am going to achieve that as soon as possible so we will have more time to do great things and make more contributions to the world we are living in.

8. You’ll be speaking at the Humanists of Houston City-wide monthly gathering on Saturday, May 18, 1:00PM-3:00PM. Can you tell us what you’ll be discussing?

I will be speaking about my life as a non-believer in Iraq, atheism across the Middle East, Global Secular Humanist Movement and my views about Humanism, religion and how to make a better global civilization based upon the values of the enlightenment.

Faisal Saeed Al Mutar

At a prayer rally at the U.S. Capital on Wednesday, Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., told fellow lawmakers that America has “seen God’s judgment” through the terrorist attack that killed 3,000 people in 2001 and the siege on the American diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, that occurred last year.

Bachmann said it’s no secret that our nation is “experiencing the hand of judgment” and that America may be in a time of decline. The solution, she said, is “humbling ourselves before an almighty God.”

“Our nation has seen judgment not once but twice on September 11,” Bachmann said Wednesday. “That’s why we’re going to have ‘9/11 Pray’ on that day. Is there anything better that we can do on that day rather than to humble ourselves and to pray to an almighty God?”

The event, which honored the first inauguration of George Washington and his devotion to prayer, included appearances by Bachmann, Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Calif., Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Mo., Rep. Mike McIntyre, D-N.C., Rep. Robert Pittenger, R-N.C., Rep. James Lankford, R-Okla., and Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas.

Those present at the ceremony, titled “Washington: A Man of Prayer,” prayed that God would bless America so America can be a blessing to the rest of the world. The event also featured history lessons about Washington from guest speakers, including former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Christian author Eric Metaxas.

Metaxas warned participants that nearly 225 years after Washington’s inaugural prayer, religious liberties are under attack.

“If we lose religious freedom, if a secular orthodoxy rises and begins to force people to keep their faith in the shadows [and says] ‘just in that building on Sunday morning, but once you come out you have to bow to the secular orthodoxy’ — once that happens, you understand that we can no longer be America,” Metaxas said Wednesday.

The event marked the first time in 100 years a private Christian organization, Come Pray With Me, was granted permission by Speaker of the House John Boehner to conduct a prayer event for members of Congress in The Great Hall.  The event was congressionally sponsored by Gohmert, and was recorded by the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN).

Bachmann: It’s no secret that our nation may very well be experiencing the hand of judgment. It’s no secret that we all are concerned that our nation may be in a time of decline. If that is in fact so, what is the answer? The answer is what we are doing here today: humbling ourselves before an almighty God, crying out to an almighty God, saying not of ourselves but you, would you save us oh God? We repent of our sins, we turn away from them, we seek you, we seek your ways. That’s something that we’re doing today, that we did on the National Day of Prayer, it’s something that we have chosen to do as well on another landmark day later this year on September 11. Our nation has seen judgment not once but twice on September 11. That’s why we’re going to have ‘9/11 Pray’ on that day. Is there anything better that we can do on that day rather than to humble ourselves and to pray to an almighty God?

The Freedom From Religion Foundation on Thursday said it wants four Georgia public school teachers involved in an impromptu “prayer rally” to be permanently removed from duty, and approximately 50 student participants disciplined.

The prayer rally began in a coach’s office at Lumpkin County High School at about 7:30 AM on May 1, according to media reports. One student claimed that “between 12 and 15 fellow students turned their lives over to Christ during the prayer.”

FFRF Staff Attorney Andrew Seidel wrote the letter to Superintendent Dewey Moye of the Lumpkin County School System in Dahlonega, GA, after Moye publicly stated that there would be no “consequences for any employee or any student” involved. FFRF told Moye that such leniency shows unconstitutional favoritism to religion and that it will “encourage participants to repeat the crime.”

“We understand that you have assured the media that this will not happen again. We appreciate your commitment to upholding the Establishment Clause,” Seidel wrote in the Thursday letter. “However, we fear that the district does not fully comprehend the severity of this violation and the extent of religious encroachment in Lumpkin County public schools.”

Wisconsin-based FFRF is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting the constitutional principle of separation between state and church.

FFRF said it’s not seeking to have people punished for exercising religious faith, but instead it asks that the teachers who left classrooms unattended and students who skipped class to be disciplined.

FFRF also pointed out the complicity of the principal.

“Either he knew this was happening and didn’t stop it or he did not know that a significant portion of his charges and employees were violating the Constitution, state law and school rules,” the letter says. “Each is a serious dereliction of duty.”

FFRF said several new concerns about the unconstitutional encroachment of religion in Lumpkin County Schools indicate that the illegal prayer episode was foreseeable and that it has received multiple allegations of the highly religious nature of high school athletic programs, including coaches subjecting students to their personal religious beliefs and pressuring them about religion at games, practices or in classes they teach.

Seidel wrote, “We have been told that during practices, coaches ask students why they did not go to church. FFRF also received an allegation that “Kids were forced to wear team shirts saying something akin to ‘God, Family, School, Basketball.’”

“”Perhaps this is why students thought it acceptable to skip class in violation of the Georgia compulsory attendance law,” Seidel added.

Lumpkin County High School

Tim Lambesis, the lead singer and co-founder of Christian heavy metal band “As I Lay Dying,” was arrested on Tuesday by the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department for soliciting an undercover detective to kill his wife.

The SDSD said they initiated an investigation into Lambesis on May 2 after reports that he was soliciting another individual to kill his estranged wife, who lives in Encinitas, CA. Lambesis was charged with solicitation of another to commit murder after an investigation conducted by the Encinitas Detectives, the San Diego Fugitive Task Force and the Sheriff’s Special Investigation Division.

As I Lay Dying has repeatedly affirmed that each of the members of the band are Christian and, on the band’s Frequently Asked Questions page, Lambesis responded to a question about whether or not As I Lay Dying was a Christian band. He said he wasn’t sure of the difference between five Christians playing in a band and a Christian band.

“If you truly believe something, then it should affect every area of your life. All five of us are Christians. I believe that change should start with me first, and as a result, our lyrics do not come across very ‘preachy,’” Lambesis wrote. “Many of our songs are about life, struggles, mistakes, relationships and other issues that don’t fit entirely in the spiritual category. However, all of these topics are written about through my perspective as a Christian.”

In an August 2010 radio interview on The Full Armor of God Broadcast, Lambesis also said his worldview as a Christian “always comes across in our lyrics in some way or another.”

As I Lay Dying formed more than 10 years ago and has released 8 albums.

Lambesis was arrested Tuesday, transported to the Encinitas Station and booked into the Vista Detention Facility, according to the SD County Sheriff’s Department.

The other four members on Wednesday told their fans they have no more information than the public does.

“There are many unanswered questions, and the situation will become clearer in the coming days and weeks. We’ll keep you informed as best we can,” Jordan, Nick, Phil and Josh wrote in a press release on the band’s website. “Our thoughts right now are with Tim, his family, and with everyone else affected by this terrible situation – and with our fans, whom we love and draw strength from.”

Tim Lambesis

Self-proclaimed psychic and medium Sylvia Browne falsely predicted the death of Amanda Berry, who was kidnapped in 2003 and escaped from her captors earlier this week, reminding the world of the damages that can be caused by high-profile psychics who pretend to have a supernatural gift.

Browne made the prediction in 2004 on Montel Williams’ syndicated television show, where she was a weekly guest for many years. Browne reportedly told Louwana Miller, Berry’s mother, that she could “see” Berry’s jacket in a dumpster with “DNA on it.”

“She’s not alive, honey,” Browne told Miller on The Montel Williams Show. “Your daughter’s not the kind who wouldn’t call.”

Miller, who died in March 2006, said she believed Browne “98 percent.” Miller never saw her daughter again, and would never know that she was still alive. Berry escaped the home where she had been held captive for nearly nine years and called the police, who rescued her and two other victims.

But this isn’t the first time one of Browne’s lies has caught up to her. In fact, in 2003, also on Montel Williams’ show, Browne told Pam and Craig Akers that their son Shawn Hornbeck, who had been missing since October 2002, was dead.

Browne told the Akers that their son was dead, near two jagged rocks, within a 20-mile radius of where he was taken. Hornbeck, by then 15 years old, was found alive in January 2007.

In yet another instance, in 1999, Browne told the grandmother of an abducted girl that she had been taken into slavery in Japan. The grandmother of Opal Jo Jennings was tortured with the idea that the girl could be suffering in that way, but it was eventually discovered that the girl was already dead – and all of Browne’s predictions about her were made up.

Browne isn’t the only alleged psychic peddling faulty information. Tens of thousands of people who claim they can predict the future, read others’ minds, or know otherwise inaccessible information, charge money to tell people their ideas. The problem, of course, is that no psychic has ever scientifically proven his or her ability.

Many people have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in schemes perpetuated by psychic con artists, some even losing their homes and families. Some, as in the cases referenced here, were tormented with faulty information about their missing loved ones. But, in each instance, so-called seers have caused immeasurable harm to their victims.

Sylvia Browne with Montel Williams

Rick Santorum on Friday told the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action that Americans’ rights – like the right to bear arms – “come from God, because you are a creation of a loving God, and you have dignity because of that.”

The former Republican presidential candidate, speaking at an annual NRA-ILA leadership forum conference, contrasted the United States with countries in Europe, which he said have a “secular, dying culture” with few rights. Santorum also referenced the French Revolution as a “godless” revolution, in contrast to the American Revolution, which was apparently approved by God. In other words, “God is on our side.”

Former senator Santorum said President Barack Obama’s administration seeks to fundamentally change the United States by removing the influence of Christianity in the military and in public schools. Obama was re-elected by a “small minority” that “infiltrate elite institutions,” Santorum said, encouraging NRA members to “fight back” against legislative changes initiated by the White House.

Here’s the video: 

The debate over gun-control legislation has raged since December, when 20 first-graders and six teachers were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. A bill that would have expanded background checks on firearm purchases, which President Barack Obama supported, failed to pass in the Senate in mid-April.

The NRA-ILA leadership forum also featured speeches by former Governor Sarah Palin, Governor Rick Perry, and Governor Bobby Jindal.

By David G. McAfee

For thousands of years, religions have been making promises they can’t fulfill. From the claim that prayer can heal the sick to the promise we can live forever after death, religions offer the world to those filled with wishful thoughts, but provide little more than the occasional inspirational word. Scientific discoveries, however, have begun to fill that void and make good on many of religion’s seemingly impossible offers.

An afterlife is something that most religions advertise, in one way or another. Because we have knowledge of our own impending death, humans are susceptible to this type of belief.  But believing doesn’t make it so… and to date there’s not a shred of evidence to support any idea of life after death. But, industrial designer Gerard Moline has come up with a way to combine that romantic notion with reality.

Moline’s Bios Urn, made from biodegradable materials like coconut shell and compacted peat, allows you to live after death… as a tree. The urn contains a seed and, after you’re cremated, your ashes join the seed underground. The ashes serve as nutrients to help grow the tree and make sure you really can live on after death. You can even choose from a variety of seeds to determine what type of tree will sprout from your urn.

Christians believe, as is reported in the New Testament scriptures, that Jesus of Nazareth healed 10 men with leprosy. It sounds like an astounding feat, but compare that to Jacinto Convit who saved thousands of lives when he developed the vaccine that protects us from it. In 1988, Convit was nominated for a Nobel Prize in Medicine for his anti-leprosy vaccine. So, while the promise of Jesus’ healing power is a centerpiece of the Christian myth, the demigod’s results leave something to be desired when compared to the rigor of man’s scientific inquiry.

It makes one wonder why Jesus himself wouldn’t have provided the vaccine, or at least given hints in his teachings to cures for some of the most horrific diseases that have historically haunted mankind. Or maybe Jesus saw those 10 people as superior – more worthy of a healthy life – than anyone else who has suffered from leprosy before, during, and after that time.

Creationism is the religious belief that life, the earth, and the universe are all created by a supernatural being; Creationists argue that we are well-suited for earth and that this points to the intervention of a higher power. But a scientific understanding of evolution by natural selection, pioneered by Charles Darwin, tells us exactly why we are well-suited for some aspects of the earth… and not so well-suited for others.

Through scientific analysis, we can see how the gradual, non-random process of natural selection and how it allows biological traits to become more or less common in a population based on the reproduction of those who bear those traits. Religion promises perfection and, while humanity is nowhere near that benchmark, natural processes are working to shape humans and all living things to be the most successful versions of themselves and science is helping us understand how.

In each case, religion has made a claim that natural processes and scientific inquiry has worked to fulfill. So, while religions make lofty promises about life after death, cures for deadly diseases, and beauty and perfection around us, bringing those ideals to fruition is our responsibility.

Bios Urn

By David G. McAfee

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson came to Santa Barbara, CA, for the first time on Thursday, where he discussed everything from the latest cosmic discoveries to the demotion of Pluto in 2006.

Tyson, currently the Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium at the Rose Center for Earth and Space, will be hosting an upcoming sequel to Carl Sagan’s Cosmos: A Personal Voyage television series on Fox.

Tyson, who has 18 honorary PhDs, mixed humor and science as he told the crowd about the relative insignificance of humanity in comparison to the universe. He started by taking off his boots to get comfortable on the stage. He then showed a famous satellite photo of Saturn in which our planet appears just barely visible in the distant background, taking up about six pixels of the photograph.

“There are people in those six pixels who are sure that the universe was created just for them,” Tyson said, comparing the photo to the 1990 Voyager 1 photograph taken of earth called the Pale Blue Dot. “Everyone you’ve ever known is in those six pixels. It really puts things into perspective.”

Tyson largely covered material not previously discussed in his books, including the history of America’s search for a planet with extra-terrestrial life, the theory of panspermia, the Higgs Boson discovery and the recent 60-foot meteor that landed near the Russian city of Chelyabinsk last month, injuring more than 1,000 people.

Tyson also discussed a deadly asteroid on a potential collision course for earth. Near-earth asteroid 99943 Apophis, named aptly for an ancient Egyptian spirit of evil and darkness, flies past the earth every seven years and could potentially strike earth in 2036, according to Tyson.

Tyson also discussed the defunding of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and how to encourage further investments in the sciences. He said, in a capitalist system, realizing the great benefit science can have to our economy might be the key.

Tyson, originally scheduled for a 45-minute lecture, spoke for at least two hours before opening up the floor for questions and answers. He also signed copies of his books, including Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier and The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America’s Favorite Planet.

UCSB Arts & Lectures presented the lecture at the Granada Theatre in Santa Barbara.

Photo by the Cassini spacecraft in 2006.

The report, which highlights the status of religious freedom globally and identifies those governments that are the most egregious violators, also includes recognition of severe atheist discrimination in a number of countries.

In Burma, Theraveda Buddhism is the dominant religious tradition and Muslims and Christians reportedly make up 8%-10% of the population. In contrast to common representations of Buddhists as inherently peaceful, minority religious groups are subject to pervasive surveillance, imprisonment, discrimination, societal violence, destruction or desecration of property and censorship of religious materials by Buddhists, according to the report.

“The military reportedly continues to limit religious worship and forcibly promote Buddhism as a means of pacification in these areas and targets Christians for forced labor, rape, intimidation, and destruction of religious sites,” the report says. “The government also continues to censor religious publications and prohibits the import of Bibles and Qu’rans in indigenous languages.”

The report found that the Burmese government shows preference for Buddhism through financial support and donations to monasteries, pagodas, monastic schools and missionary activities. Promotions to senior levels of the military and civil service are also reserved for Buddhists.

According to the report, Rohingya Muslims generally experience the worst treatment in Burma.

“Rohingya Muslims, who are denied Burmese citizenship, experience widespread discrimination, strict controls over their religious activities and ceremonies and societal violence that is often incited by Buddhist monks and carried out with impunity by mobs and local militias, including police in Rakhine (Arakhan) State,” the report says. “In the past year, over 1,000 Rohingya have been killed, their villages and religious structures destroyed, and women raped during attacks.”

In June 2012, sectarian violence between ethnic Arakanese Buddhists and ethnic Rohingya Muslims led to hundreds of deaths and an estimated 100,000 internally displaced. Provincial police did not stop initial violence and supported ongoing attacks by both Arakanese groups and Buddhist monks on Rohingya villages and the denial of humanitarian access to Rohingya areas and camps, according to the report.

According to BBC reports, the Burmese antagonism is spearheaded by the 969 group, led by a monk, Ashin Wirathu, who was jailed in 2003 for inciting religious hatred. Released in 2012, he has referred to himself bizarrely as “the Burmese Bin Laden.”

Despite the considerable international attention, however, the Burmese government, backed by a majority of popular opinion and groups promoting “Buddhist Nationalism,” continues to restrict humanitarian assistance, sanction clandestine violence through impunity, and encourage refugee flows to other Southeast Asia countries, according to the report.

In its 2013 report, the USCIRF recommended that the U.S. government re-designate Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Uzbekistan as “countries of particular concern.”

The USCIRF, an independent federal advisory body created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to monitor religious freedom abuses abroad, outlined the state of religious freedom in 29 countries in its 2013 report.