Hostility Spreading Against Religious People: Pew Research

In Pew Research Center’s latest global study of religious freedom, Israel and Bangladesh have joined Nigeria, India, Syria, and Pakistan as the six nations that experienced very high social hostilities against religion in 2023, the most recent year for which data is available.

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An additional 49 countries encountered high levels of religion-driven social hostilities in 2023, bringing the total to 55 countries—28% of countries—with elevated levels of religion-driven social hostilities. The annual study covers two types of indexes—Government Restrictions and Social Hostilities—in a total of 198 countries and territories.

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Of the people living in those 198 countries, about three-quarters (78%) live in places with high or very high levels of government restrictions and/or social hostilities.

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The Government Restrictions Index (GRI) measures how government officials, laws, and policies impinge on religious freedom. In 2023, 58 countries had high or very high GRI levels—just one fewer than the peak number, 59, recorded in 2022. Among the countries with very high GRI scores in 2023 were China, Iran, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Syria, and Uzbekistan.

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The Social Hostilities Index (SHI) benchmarks the harassment and violence by private individuals and nongovernmental organizations (including terrorist groups) that are motivated by religion or that target religious communities.

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At a global level, the Pew research suggests that governments have been clamping down on religious beliefs and practices in more ways than they were in 2007, at the beginning of the study, while the number of countries with social hostilities has tended to rise and fall with events.

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A majority of the countries—168 (84.8%)—suffered harassment at the hands of both the government and private groups, including terrorist organizations. The most severe persecution occurred in 48 countries—24%—that suffered religion-related killings; people in 58 countries—29%—were displaced from their homes because of their religion.

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Among the 25 most populous countries, South Africa, the United States, Japan, the Philippines, and the United Kingdom had the lowest overall levels of government restrictions on religion and social hostilities involving religion in 2023.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Nigeria, Rwanda, China, Mozambique, and Mexico Are the Top Persecutors of Christians: GCR Red List ]

Read the complete Pew Research Center study here.

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