Key findings about restrictions on religion around the world in 2019
Social hostilities around the world involving religion declined in 2019 to the lowest level in five years.
Household size and composition often vary by religious affiliation, data from 130 countries and territories reveals. Muslims and Hindus have larger households than Christians and religious “nones,” influenced in part by regional norms.
Giving a share of one’s income to the church has been a part of European tradition for centuries. Today, several countries continue to collect a “church tax” on behalf of officially recognized religious organizations, in some cases levying the tax on all registered members.
The European continent today is split in public attitudes toward religion, minorities and social issues such as gay marriage and legal abortion.
Even with no new migration, Muslims are projected to increase as a share of Europe’s population.
Concentrated in Europe, Orthodox Christians have declined as share of the global Christian population, from 20% in 1910 to 12% today. But the Ethiopian community is highly observant and growing.
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