WASHINGTON, D.C., USA, August 9, 2001 (Religion News Service): A third of the world — about 2.2 billion people — live in nations where restrictions on religion have substantially increased, according to a study just released by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life.
The study also shows increasing polarization: intolerant countries are growing more hostile to religious freedom, while tolerant countries are growing more accommodating. Brian Grim, the primary researcher, explains, “When you have one set of restrictions in place, then it’s easier to add on.”
The report culled data from 198 countries and territories from 2006 through 2009. Egypt, France, Algeria, Uganda and Malaysia were among the countries with the greatest increases in governmental religious restrictions; among those with the greatest easing of restrictions were Greece, Togo, Nicaragua, Republic of Macedonia and Guinea-Bissau. North Korea, one of the most repressive regimes, could not be included in the report for lack of reliable data.
The report also measured social hostility toward religious groups. Although religious freedom is scarcest in the Middle East and North Africa, Europe was found to have the largest proportion of countries with increased social hostilities related to religion. Muslims and Christians were reported to have suffered the most harassment based on their religion. Jews, representing less than one percent of the world’s people, were harassed in 75 countries.
Overall, about 70 percent of the world lives in nations with significant religious repression — a figure that matched that of a similar study Pew undertook two years ago. But the nations in which religious repression is increasing tend to be populous, the study’s authors noted.