View source for Communism and religious persecution

=== North Korean communism and torture ===

''See also:'' [[Atheism and cannibalism]]

[[North Korea]] practices [[state atheism]] and belief in [[God]] is actively discouraged.<ref> Elizabeth Raum. North Korea. Series: Countries Around the World. Heinemann, 2012. ISBN 1432961330. p. 28: «North Korea is an atheist state. This means that people do not pray in public or attend places of worship. Buddhist temples exist from earlier times. They are now preserved as historic buildings, but they are not used for worship. A few Christian churches exist, but few people attend services. North Koreans do not celebrate religious holidays.»</ref>  Open Doors, an organization based in the United States, has put North Korea at the very top of its list of countries where [[Christianity|Christians]] face significant persecution - for 12 years in a row.<ref>[http://www.pri.org/stories/2014-10-22/repressive-atheist-north-korea-has-surprising-relationship-christian-missionaries Repressive, atheist North Korea has a surprising relationship with Christian missionaries]</ref>

The ''Christian Post'' published an article entitled ''North Korean Defector Who Spent 28 Years in Prison Camp Details Hunger, Torture, and Cannibalism in the DPRK'' which stated:
{{cquote|More than 200,000 North Koreans, including children, are imprisoned in camps where many perish from forced labor, inadequate food, and abuse by guards, according to Human Rights Watch. The isolated, secretive nation has no media, functioning civil society, or religious freedom, and pervasive problems include arbitrary arrest, lack of due process, and torture.<ref>[http://www.christianpost.com/news/north-korean-defector-who-spent-28-years-in-prison-camp-details-starvation-torture-and-cannibalism-in-the-dprk-138746/ ''North Korean Defector Who Spent 28 Years in Prison Camp Details Hunger, Torture, and Cannibalism in the DPRK'']</ref>}}