CORRECTION (Dec. 19, 2025): Two charts and some of the text in this chapter have been revised to correct the SHI median scores for the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, and the Middle East-North Africa region, and to revise Norway’s SHI category. The median scores changed by 0.1 point for each of these three regions. Refer to the errata […]
Confucianism Named after the sage Confucius (b. 551 B.C.E.), Confucianism is one of the most important philosophical traditions in China. Although it’s widely considered a spiritual philosophy, some scholars classify it as a religion. Its beliefs center on a pervasive, invisible divine power – tian (天), usually translated as “heaven” – that controls humans’ fate […]
The analysis in this report is based on Pew Research Center surveys conducted between 2007 and 2021, including: The 2021 National Public Opinion Reference Survey (NPORS), conducted online and by mail among a nationally representative group of respondents recruited using address-based sampling (ABS). The survey was conducted among 3,937 respondents from May 29 to Aug. […]
CORRECTION (Dec. 19, 2025): Two charts and some of the text in Chapter 1 have been corrected with updated SHI figures. Refer to the errata page for details. Countries with the most extensive government restrictions on religion Government restrictions on religion vary from country to country, and some countries have much higher scores on the Government Restrictions […]