Government restrictions on religion around the world reached new record in 2018
Government restrictions in 2018 were at their highest level since 2007, when Pew Research Center began tracking these trends.
Over the decade from 2007 to 2017, government restrictions on religion – laws, policies and actions by state officials that restrict religious beliefs and practices – increased markedly around the world.
People who are active in religious congregations tend to be happier and more civically engaged than either religiously unaffiliated adults or inactive members of religious groups, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of survey data from the United States and more than two dozen other countries.
Restrictions on religion increased in 2016 for the second straight year. Nationalist parties and organizations played an increasing role in harassment of religious minorities, especially in Europe.
Islam is the most common state religion, but many governments give privileges to Christianity.
Even with no new migration, Muslims are projected to increase as a share of Europe’s population.
There has been a modest drop in overall rates of belief in God and participation in religious practices. But religiously affiliated Americans are as observant as before.
As of 2010, nearly a third of the world’s population identified as Christian. But if demographic trends persist, Islam will close the gap by the middle of the 21st century.
TOPIC
FORMAT
AUTHOR
RESEARCH AREA
Copyright 2024 Pew Research Center