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Religious Freedom & Restrictions

reportDec 18, 2024

Our annual report includes a five-year look at the relationship between religion-related government restrictions and social hostilities in 198 countries and territories.

Interactive: Religious restrictions around the world

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Religious Freedom & Restrictions

Publications

short readsJan 17, 2014

Key findings about growing religious hostilities around the world

Highlights from the fifth annual Pew Research Center study of religious hostilities around the world.
reportJan 14, 2014

Religious Hostilities Reach Six-Year High

A third of the 198 countries studied had a high or very high level of social hostilities involving religion in 2012. About three-in-ten countries had a high or very high level of government restrictions on religion, roughly the same as in 2011.
short readsNov 20, 2013

States that allow same-sex marriage also provide protections for religious groups and clergy who oppose it

The battle over same-sex marriage has been about more than whether to allow gays and lesbians to wed. In every state where same-sex marriage is legal – including Illinois, which today became the 16th state to allow gays and lesbians to marry – politicians and others have also debated how to best protect religious freedom. […]
short readsNov 8, 2013

Quebec considers new restrictions on wearing religious symbols, clothing

Much of the public debate over the so-called “Charter of Values” has focused on the measure’s potential impact on immigrants and their religious beliefs and practices.
short readsSep 24, 2013

Nairobi Westgate mall terrorist attack is part of Kenya’s sharp rise in religious hostilities

The number of people killed in religion-related terrorist attacks in Kenya has dramatically increased in recent years.
short readsSep 18, 2013

Headscarf incident in Sudan highlights a global trend

Sudan is one of an increasing number of countries whose governments regulate the wearing of religious symbols or attire, such as head coverings for women or facial hair for men.
short readsJul 8, 2013

Global restrictions on religion increased following the Arab Spring

In 2011, a strong majority of the world’s population lived in countries with high religious restrictions.
short readsJul 2, 2013

Egypt’s restrictions on religion coincide with lack of religious tolerance

In Egypt, the government’s restrictions on religion also are coupled with a Muslim public that is considerably less tolerant of religious pluralism than Muslims elsewhere.
reportJun 20, 2013

Arab Spring Adds to Global Restrictions on Religion

Pew Research’s fourth major report on global restrictions on religion finds that the share of countries with high or very high restrictions on religion rose from 37% in 2010 to 40% in 2011. The Middle East and North Africa continued to have the highest levels of restrictions in the year when much of the Arab Spring uprisings occurred, with social hostilities involving religion increasing markedly and government restrictions remaining high.
featureApr 30, 2013

TEDx: Religious Freedom by the Numbers

Senior Researcher Brian J. Grim talks about the Pew Research Center’s restrictions on religion studies at the April 2013 TEDx ViaDellaConciliazione conference at the Vatican. https://www.youtube.com/embed/cQvDUTOOkiI Related Resources: Slides Arab Spring Adds to Global Restrictions on Religion TEDx ViaDellaConciliazione website TEDxViaDellaConciliazione Youtube page