In 2021, government restrictions on religion – laws, policies and actions by state officials that limit religious beliefs and practices – reached a new peak globally. Harassment of religious groups and interference in worship were two of the most common forms of government restrictions worldwide that year.
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Incidents against Jewish people in 2020 ranged from verbal and physical assaults to vandalism of cemeteries and scapegoating for the pandemic.
Religiously unaffiliated people were harassed by governments, private groups or both in 27 countries in 2020.
Our study analyzes 198 countries and territories and is based on policies and events in 2020, the most recent year for which data is available.
Nearly a quarter of countries used force to prevent religious gatherings during the pandemic; other government restrictions and social hostilities related to religion remained fairly stable.
Most U.S. adults do not believe that requests for religious exemptions from the COVID-19 vaccine are sincere.
As democratic nations have wrestled with economic, social and geopolitical upheaval in recent years, the future of liberal democracy has come into question. Our international surveys reveal key insights into how citizens think about democratic governance.
Social hostilities around the world involving religion declined in 2019 to the lowest level in five years.
Indians see religious tolerance as a central part of who they are as a nation. Across the major religious groups, most people say it is very important to respect all religions to be “truly Indian.”
© 2024 Pew Research Center
