Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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.
Countries with the most extensive government restrictions on religion While most countries have some form of government restrictions involving religion, some countries stand out each year by having particularly high levels of these restrictions. This subset of states may have some similarities with countries in the lower categories of restrictions – for example, both may […]
Government restrictions by region In 2017, the global median score on the Government Restrictions Index (GRI) remained stable at 2.8 – matching 2016 and staying at its highest point since the study began in 2007 (see Overview). The median score declined in three geographic regions (Middle East-North Africa, the Americas and Asia-Pacific), increased in Europe […]
Most U.S. adults know what the Holocaust was and approximately when it happened, but fewer than half can correctly answer multiple-choice questions about the number of Jews who were murdered or the way Adolf Hitler came to power, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.
Pew Research Center analyzed data on six religious groups – Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews and people with no religious affiliation.[37. numoffset=”37″ Although some faiths other than those analyzed in this report (such as Sikhs) have millions of adherents around the world, censuses and surveys in many countries do not measure them specifically. Because of […]
Religion in public schools has long been a controversial issue. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1962 that teachers and administrators cannot lead prayers in public schools, and a decision in 2000 barred school districts from sponsoring student-led prayers at football games. At the same time, the court has held that students retain a First […]
In 2017, harassment against religious groups – either by governments or individuals and groups in society – was reported in 187 countries by this study’s sources (see Methodology for details). This figure remained the same from the previous year, matching the highest level since the study began in 2007. Harassment entails an offense against a […]
More than 55 years after the Supreme Court issued its landmark ruling striking down school-sponsored prayer, Americans continue to fight over the place of religion in public schools. Questions about religion in the classroom no longer make quite as many headlines as they once did, but the issue remains an important battleground in the broader […]
Countries with the most extensive government restrictions on religion Most countries around the world have some form of restrictions on religion – whether it is through laws that limit actions like public preaching or conversion, or actions that can include detaining, displacing or assaulting members of religious groups. A subset of countries, however, has particularly […]
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.