New study finds rise in religious restrictions worldwide
(September 24, 2012) Hostility towards religion has risen globally, both in the form
of government restrictions and social attitudes, determined a new study by the Pew
Research Center. Released Sept. 20, a report from the center's Forum on Religion
& Public Life warned that a “rising tide of restrictions on religion spread across
the world between mid-2009 and mid-2010.” The study found that 75 percent of the global
population was living in a region in which religious restrictions were “high” or “very
high,” up from 70 percent the prior year. The report marks the third time the United
States-based think tank forum has recorded levels of religious limitations around
the globe. It examines government restrictions and social hostilities towards religion
in 197 countries and territories worldwide. “Restrictions on religion rose in each
of the five major regions of the world – including in the Americas and sub-Saharan
Africa, the two regions where overall restrictions previously had been declining,”
the report said. The Washington DC-based forum explained that these religious
restrictions rose “not only in countries that began the year with high or very high
restrictions or hostilities,” but also in many nations “that began with low or moderate
restrictions or hostilities, such as Switzerland and the United States.” Overall,
from mid-2009 to mid-2010, the study found, restrictions increased in 66 percent of
countries and decreased in 28 percent. Sixty-three percent of countries had increases
in government limitations on religion, while 25 percent had decreases, it said. During
this same time period, 49 percent of countries experienced a rise in social hostilities,
while 32 percent saw a decline. The study found that “certain types of social hostilities
involving religion are more likely to be associated with higher government restrictions
on religion.” Both social hostilities and government restrictions were found to be
highest in the Middle East and North Africa. “As of mid-2010, government restrictions
on religion were high or very high in most of the countries that experienced the political
uprisings known as the Arab Spring in late 2010 and early 2011,” the report said.
“In Tunisia – where the uprisings began – government restrictions increased from the
high category as of mid-2009 to the very high category as of mid-2010,” it explained.