WASHINGTON – Close to one-third of the world’s citizens have faced increased restrictions on religious practice and expression imposed on them by their respective nations’ governments, according to a study issued Aug. 9 by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Public Life.

The report, “Rising Restrictions on Religion,” noted that such limitations are on the upswing in only 23 of the world’s 198 nations, and that many of those countries are among the world’s most populous and fastest-growing in population, affecting a higher percentage of the world’s residents.

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