Three-Year Study Finds One-Third of Global Population Experiences An Increase

Washington,D.C. — More than2.2 billion people, nearly a third (32%) of the world’s total population of 6.9billion, live in countries where either government restrictions on religion orsocial hostilities involving religion rose substantially between mid-2006 andmid-2009, according to a new study on global restrictions on religion releasedtoday by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life. Onlyabout 1% of the world’s population lives in countries where government restrictionsor social hostilities declined.

In general, most ofthe countries that experienced substantial increases in government restrictionsor social hostilities involving religion already had high or very high levelsof restrictions or hostilities. By contrast, nearly half of the countries thathad substantial decreases in restrictions or hostilities already scored low.This suggests that there may be a gradual polarization taking place in which countriesthat are relatively high in religious restrictions are becoming morerestrictive, while those that are relatively low are becoming less restrictive.

These are among the key findings of RisingRestrictions on Religion,the Pew Forum’s secondreport on global restrictions on religion. The study is part of the Pew-TempletonGlobal Religious Futures project, an effort funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts and the John Templeton Foundation to analyzereligious change and its impact on societies around the world.

Other major findings include:

• Restrictionson religious beliefs and practices rose between mid-2006 and mid-2009 in 23 ofthe world’s 198 countries (12%), decreased in 12 countries (6%) and remainedessentially unchanged in 163 countries (82%).
• Amongthe world’s 25 most populous countries, which account for about 75% of theworld’s total population, restrictions on religion substantially increased ineight countries and did not substantially decrease in any. In China, Nigeria,Russia, Thailand, the United Kingdom and Vietnam, the increases were dueprimarily to rising levels of social hostilities involving religion. In Egyptand France, the increases were mainly the result of government restrictions.The rest of the 25 most populous countries, including the United States, didnot experience substantial changes in either social hostilities or governmentimposed restrictions.
• TheMiddle East-North Africa region had the largest proportion of countries inwhich government restrictions on religion increased — with nearly a third ofthe region’s countries (30%) imposing greater restrictions. Egypt, inparticular, ranked very high (in the top 5% of all countries, as of mid-2009)on both government restrictions and social hostilities involving religion.
• Europehad the largest proportion of countries in which social hostilities related toreligion were on the rise from mid-2006 to mid-2009. Indeed, five of the 10countries in the world that had a substantial increase in social hostilitieswere in Europe: Bulgaria, Denmark, Russia, Sweden and the United Kingdom.Social hostilities involving religion have also been rising in Asia,particularly in China, Thailand and Vietnam.
• Overall,14 countries had a substantial increase in government restrictions on religion,while eight had a substantial decline. In terms of social hostilities involvingreligion, 10 countries had a substantial increase, while five had a substantialdecline. No country rose or declined substantially in both categories over the three-yearperiod. One country, Kyrgyzstan, showed a substantial increase in governmentrestrictions and a decrease in social hostilities, so it was treated as havingno overall change.
• Theextent of violence and abuse related to religion increased in more places thanit decreased. The number of countries in which governments used at least somemeasure of force against religious groups or individuals rose from 91 (46%) inthe period ending in mid-2008 to 101 (51%) in the period ending in mid-2009.This violence was wide-ranging, including individuals being killed, physicallyabused, imprisoned, detained or displaced from their homes, as well as damageto or destruction of personal or religious properties.
• Adherentsof the world’s two largest religious groups, Christians and Muslims, whotogether comprise more than half of the global population, were harassed in thelargest number of countries. Over the three-year period studied, incidents ofeither government or social harassment were reported against Christians in 130countries (66%) and against Muslims in 117 countries (59%). Buddhists andHindus, who together account for roughly one-fifth of the world’s populationand who are more geographically concentrated than Christians or Muslims, faced harassmentin fewer places; harassment was reported against Buddhists in 16 countries (8%)and against Hindus in 27 countries (14%).
• Inproportion to their numbers, some smaller religious groups faced especiallywidespread harassment. Although Jews comprise less than 1% of the world’spopulation, government or social harassment of Jews was reported in 75countries (38%). Incidents of harassment involving members of other worldreligions — including Sikhs, ancient faiths such as Zoroastrianism, newer faithgroups such as Baha’is and Rastafarians, and localized groups that practicetribal or folk religions — were reported in 84 countries (42%).
• Restrictionson religion are particularly common in the 59 countries that prohibitblasphemy, apostasy or defamation of religion. While such laws are sometimespromoted as a way to protect religion, in practice they often serve to punishreligious minorities whose beliefs are deemed unorthodox or heretical.
• Innearly three-quarters of all countries, private citizens or groups committedcrimes, malicious acts or violence motivated by religious hatred or bias. Suchacts occurred in 142 countries (72%) in the period ending in mid-2009, aboutthe same as in the previous reporting period (141 countries or 71%). The numberof countries that experienced mob violence related to religion rose from 38(19%) as of mid-2008 to 52 (26%) as of mid-2009.
• Religion-relatedterrorist groups were active in 74 countries around the world in the periodending in mid-2009. The groups carried out acts of violence in half of the 74countries. In Russia, for example, more than 1,100 casualties resulted fromreligion-related terrorist attacks during the two-year period ending inmid-2009 — more than double the number of casualties recorded in the previousreporting period. This includes people who were killed, wounded, displaced fromtheir homes, kidnapped or had their property destroyed in religion-relatedterrorist attacks.

Like the baselinereport, the new study scores 198 countries and territories — more than 99.5% ofthe world’s population — on a total of 33 measures phrased as questions aboutgovernment restrictions (government laws, policies and actions) and socialhostilities (acts of religious hostility by private individuals, organizationsand social groups). The study uses 18 widely cited, publicly available sourcesof information, including reports by the United Nations, the U.S. StateDepartment and Human Rights Watch.

The full report —including a summary of results, index scores by region, results by country, themethodology and an interactive graphic showing the levels of restrictions inthe worlds’ 25 most populous countries — is available on the Pew Forum’s website.