Laos's constitution technically guarantees religious freedom. But evangelism, religious training and church-planting are illegal.
Government officials ask new believers to sign a statement renouncing their conversion.
The prepared text expresses regret at considering a foreign religion and a commitment to the party and government. Anyone who refuses to sign the statement may incur harassment and possibly imprisonment. Despite persecution, the Christian church in Laos has more than doubled in size since 1997. More than 80,000 Laotians attend church, Baptist Press estimates. Rather than vanquishing belief in Jesus, the government's high-pressure tactics seem to arouse interest in the church.