The religiously unaffiliated were harassed by governments, private groups or both in 23 countries in 2017, up from 14 the previous year.
In addition to government actions, there also was a dramatic increase in Europe in some measures of social hostility to religion.
The Center's tenth report on religious restrictions around the world focuses on trends in restrictions from 2007 to 2017.
Pew Research Center has analyzed restrictions on religion around the world for 10 years, finding that global restrictions have risen. What is happening in some of the countries with the biggest changes?
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.
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.
Almost all New Zealanders said in a 2011-2012 survey that they would accept a neighbor of a different religion.
In 2016, seven nations – Turkey, Brunei, Ethiopia, France, Hungary, Niger and Tunisia – directly used emergency laws to restrict religion, according to Pew Research Center’s latest annual religious restrictions study. While a number of different religious groups were targeted, these laws imposed restrictions on Muslims more than any other group.
While the Chinese government asserts that it protects religious freedom, a series of annual Pew Research Center reports on religious restrictions around the globe have detailed government efforts aimed at maintaining strict control over religious beliefs and practices in the country. Two recent events have brought this into focus: China’s agreement with the Vatican on […]
Laws enacted in several European countries that restrict the religious clothing of Muslim women are largely in line with Western European attitudes on the issue.
