In response to yesterday’s publication of a “Global Report on Discrimination Against Humanists, Atheists and the Non-religious,” the Washington Post‘s Max Fisher posted this map highlighting the seven countries in which you can be executed for being an atheist (Afghanistan, Iran, Maldives, Mauritania, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan). Also on the map are countries where atheists can be imprisoned for their beliefs or have certain rights taken away (click to enlarge):

The countries in red are, at least in theory, committed to killing people for blasphemy or “thought crimes.” In all seven countries, Islam is the state religion. Six of the countries are run by a dictator, while Pakistan is (kind of) a democracy.

And in all seven countries, there are undoubtedly a large number of atheists pretending to be religious — or discussing their atheism only in the most discreet of ways — so they can live without fear of being captured and executed.



