Image of Putin, Russia Suffers Internationally
People around the world broadly think Russia plays a more important role in international affairs than it did a decade ago. But increased stature does not mean being better liked.
Islam is the most common state religion, but many governments give privileges to Christianity.
Pew Research’s fourth major report on global restrictions on religion finds that the share of countries with high or very high restrictions on religion rose from 37% in 2010 to 40% in 2011. The Middle East and North Africa continued to have the highest levels of restrictions in the year when much of the Arab Spring uprisings occurred, with social hostilities involving religion increasing markedly and government restrictions remaining high.
Between mid-2009 and mid-2010, religious restrictions rose not only in countries that began the year with high or very high restrictions, such as Indonesia and Nigeria, but also in many countries that began with low or moderate restrictions, such as Switzerland and the United States. The report looks at restrictions due to government actions as well as acts of violence and intimidation by private individuals, organizations and social groups.
TOPIC
FORMAT
AUTHOR
RESEARCH AREA
Copyright 2024 Pew Research Center