“I have been following comments by critics of the World Watch List (WWL) in the global media for many years. I am interested in the global media reaction
because the yearly WWL is the most quoted tool regarding freedom of religion or belief (FoRB—the o?cial term used by the United Nations), even though it only re-searches the situation of Christians. I am sympathetic towards any serious effort to record restrictions on religious freedom worldwide and advocate on behalf of churches. However, I do not consider the issues discussed below as being in any way part of WWL or its partners, but as an outsider professor of the sociology of religions. I also would like to state from the outset that I would like to see this expanded to include a global study and ranking of all religions and worldviews.
I have categorized the six criticisms of the WWL that I found in the media.”
—Prof. Dr. Dr. Thomas Paul Schirrmacher
