Religious restrictions among the world’s most populous countries
Levels of restrictions and hostilities vary tremendously by country, from some of the lowest in the world (South Africa) to among the very highest (Indonesia).
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
In addition to looking at the harassment of specific religious groups, this report, for the first time, looks at the prevalence of restrictions and hostilities that tend to target religious minorities. To measure the extent of these restrictions and hostilities, Pew Research identified three measures on the Government Restrictions Index and three on the Social […]
Countries With the Most Extensive Government Restrictions on Religion Most countries in the world have some form of government restrictions on religion, but each year a few countries stand out as having particularly extensive restrictions. In 2013, 18 countries had a “very high” level of government restrictions, down from 24 countries in 2012. Most of […]
Government Restrictions by Region The median level of government restrictions on religion increased in two of the five regions (Asia-Pacific and sub-Saharan Africa) and decreased in two regions (Middle East-North Africa and Europe). It stayed the same in the Americas. In the latest year studied, the Middle East and North Africa continued to have the […]
A third of the 198 countries studied had a high or very high level of social hostilities involving religion in 2012. About three-in-ten countries had a high or very high level of government restrictions on religion, roughly the same as in 2011.
The share of the world’s countries with high or very high restrictions on religion has increased significantly in recent years, as documented in this study and previous Pew Research Center reports.1 Governments and societies around the world have attempted to address the rising tide of restrictions through a variety of initiatives and actions, from encouraging […]
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.
EXTERNAL ADVISERS Stacey Bouchet is a co-director of Women In Fatherhood and a senior consultant at the Lewin Group. Her work focuses on children with incarcerated parents, responsible fatherhood and marriage. Anthony Bruno is the chancellor and former president of the American Correctional Chaplains Association and the director of the Religious Services at the Connecticut […]