Religious Minorities

Iran home to many civilizations and cultures and the birthplace of venerated religions such as Zoroastrianism and Bahai faith. The Zoroastrian culture has been embedded in Iran’s national history and traditions.Jews and Christians, in spite of challenges under certain rulers,  have had persistent presence in the region for millennia; their prophets are noted in Iran’s poetry and literature. Despite the prevalence of diverse faiths in Iran, under the current Constitution, religious minorities fall into two categories: recognized and unrecognized groups. Zoroastrianism, Judaism and Christianity are officially recognized as “religions of the book,” therefore granted freedom to practice their religion anda representative in the Iranian Parliament. Despite the official recognition, they are regarded as second class citizens and are treated unequally in the court of law. All other religions are regarded as “unrecognized” without any formal rights or protections.  Conversion out of Shia Islam into any religion is regarded as apostasy and punishable by law.