Key findings about religious restrictions around the world in 2021
The most common kinds of government restrictions on religion in 2021 included harassment of religious groups and interference in worship.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
The most common kinds of government restrictions on religion in 2021 included harassment of religious groups and interference in worship.
In 2020, properties in 102 of the 198 countries and territories in the study were targeted in incidents tied to religion.
Our study analyzes 198 countries and territories and is based on policies and events in 2020, the most recent year for which data is available.
In 2021, government restrictions on religion – laws, policies and actions by state officials that limit religious beliefs and practices – reached a new peak globally. Harassment of religious groups and interference in worship were two of the most common forms of government restrictions worldwide that year.
Social hostilities around the world involving religion declined in 2019 to the lowest level in five years.
Around a fifth (21%) of the 198 countries evaluated banned at least one religion-related group in 2019, our analysis found.
Nearly a quarter of countries used force to prevent religious gatherings during the pandemic; other government restrictions and social hostilities related to religion remained fairly stable.
Social hostilities involving religion, including violence and harassment against religious groups by private individuals and groups, declined in 2019, according to Pew Research Center’s 12th annual study of global restrictions on religion, which examines 198 countries and territories.
Government restrictions in 2018 were at their highest level since 2007, when Pew Research Center began tracking these trends.
In 2018, the global median level of government restrictions on religion – that is, laws, policies and actions by officials that impinge on religious beliefs and practices – continued to climb, reaching an all-time high since Pew Research Center began tracking these trends in 2007.
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