{"id":196026,"date":"2024-12-18T09:51:33","date_gmt":"2024-12-18T14:51:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?p=196026"},"modified":"2025-12-19T15:58:59","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T20:58:59","slug":"government-restrictions-on-religion-stayed-at-peak-levels-globally-in-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2024\/12\/18\/government-restrictions-on-religion-stayed-at-peak-levels-globally-in-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"Government Restrictions on Religion Stayed at Peak Levels Globally in 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n<div style=\"border-width:1px;padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);--block-gap: inherit\" class=\"wp-block-prc-block-collapsible has-background has-ui-beige-very-light-background-color has-border-color has-ui-beige-dark-border-color\" id=\"how-we-did-this\" data-wp-interactive=\"{&quot;namespace&quot;:&quot;prc-block\\\/collapsible&quot;}\" data-wp-context=\"{&quot;collapsibleId&quot;:&quot;how-we-did-this&quot;,&quot;isOpen&quot;:false}\" data-wp-class--is-open=\"context.isOpen\" data-wp-init--scroll-into-view=\"callbacks.onInitScrollIntoView\"><div class=\"wp-block-prc-block-collapsible__title\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.onClick\"><div>How we did this<\/div><button class=\"wp-block-prc-block-collapsible__icon\"><span data-wp-bind--hidden=\"context.isOpen\"><i class=\"icon icon-library__light icon__circle-plus\"><svg style=\"width: 1em; height: 1em;\"><use xlink:href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/plugins\/prc-icon-library\/build\/icons\/sprites\/light.svg#circle-plus\"><\/use><\/svg><\/i><\/span><span data-wp-bind--hidden=\"!context.isOpen\" hidden><i class=\"icon icon-library__light icon__circle-minus\"><svg style=\"width: 1em; height: 1em;\"><use xlink:href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/plugins\/prc-icon-library\/build\/icons\/sprites\/light.svg#circle-minus\"><\/use><\/svg><\/i><\/span><\/button><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-prc-block-collapsible__content\">\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is the 15th in a series of&nbsp;annual reports by Pew Research Center analyzing the extent to which governments and societies around the world impinge on religious beliefs and practices. This analysis was produced by Pew Research Center as part of the <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/topic\/religion\/religious-demographics\/pew-templeton-global-religious-futures-project\/\">Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures project<\/a>, which analyzes religious change and its impact on societies around the world. Funding for the Global Religious Futures project comes from The Pew Charitable Trusts and the John Templeton Foundation (grant 63095). This publication does not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To measure global restrictions on religion in 2022 \u2013 the most recent year for which data is available \u2013 the study rates 198 countries and territories by their levels of government restrictions on religion and social hostilities involving religion. The new study is based on the same 10-point indexes used in the previous studies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>The<\/strong>&nbsp;<strong>Government Restrictions Index (GRI)<\/strong>&nbsp;measures government laws, policies and actions that restrict religious beliefs and practices. The GRI comprises 20 measures of restrictions, including efforts by governments to ban particular faiths, prohibit conversion, limit preaching or give preferential treatment to one or more religious groups.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The<\/strong>&nbsp;<strong>Social Hostilities Index (SHI)<\/strong>&nbsp;measures acts of religious hostility by private individuals, organizations or groups in society. This includes religion-related armed conflict or terrorism, mob or sectarian violence, harassment over attire for religious reasons and other forms of religion-related intimidation or abuse. The SHI includes 13 measures of social hostilities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To track these indicators of government restrictions and social hostilities, researchers combed through more than a dozen publicly available, widely cited sources of information, including the U.S. State Department\u2019s annual \u201cReports on International Religious Freedom\u201d and annual reports from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), as well as reports and databases from a variety of European and United Nations bodies and several independent, nongovernmental organizations. (Refer to the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2024\/12\/18\/restrictions-on-religion-2022-methodology\">Methodology<\/a>&nbsp;for more details on sources used in the study.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To learn more about the analysis for understanding the relationship between GRI and SHI scores, read the <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2024\/12\/18\/restrictions-on-religion-2022-methodology\">Methodology<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since 2007, Pew Research Center has analyzed religious restrictions in nearly 200 countries and territories around the world with two measures that are related but that also are very different: the <strong>Government Restrictions Index (GRI) <\/strong>and the <strong>Social Hostilities Index (SHI).<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-310-wide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?attachment_id=196044\"><img data-dominant-color=\"ebe2da\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #ebe2da;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 310px) 100vw, 310px\" height=\"345\" width=\"310\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-01.png?w=620\" alt=\"Table showing how the index scores are classified\" class=\"wp-image-196044 not-transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-01.png 620w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-01.png?resize=270,300 270w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-01.png?resize=364,405 364w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-01.png?resize=200,223 200w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-01.png?resize=260,289 260w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-01.png?resize=310,345 310w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-01.png?resize=420,467 420w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-01.png?resize=160,178 160w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-01.png?resize=320,356 320w\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The GRI measures restrictions by governments that can target people for their religious beliefs, as well as incidents in which governments use religious justifications to harass, intimidate or restrict people. The SHI, on the other hand, looks at religion-related hostilities by <em>nongovernmental<\/em> actors (i.e., private individuals and social groups).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2022, the global median scores on both indexes stayed the same as they were in 2021, at 3.0 out of 10.0 on the Government Restrictions Index (its peak level) and at 1.6 out of 10.0 on the Social Hostilities Index.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is the Center\u2019s 15th annual study of restrictions on religion. Before examining the 2022 findings in detail, we begin by examining the general relationship, in all countries, between levels of government restrictions and levels of social hostilities over the last five years of the study (2018 through 2022).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In simple terms, the question we are asking is: Do countries in which <em>government<\/em> <em>authorities<\/em> pressure religious groups also tend to be places in which <em>social groups and individuals<\/em> are hostile toward religious groups? Similarly, do countries with relatively few government restrictions on religion also tend to be places with relatively few social hostilities involving religion?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For the most part, the answer is yes: <strong>Government restrictions and social hostilities tend to go hand in hand.<\/strong> Over the five-year period, roughly three-quarters of all countries had either \u201chigh\u201d or \u201cvery high\u201d levels of <em>both<\/em> <em>kinds<\/em> of restrictions, or they had \u201clow\u201d or \u201cmoderate\u201d levels of<em> both kinds<\/em> of restrictions. However, there are a sizable number of exceptions: About a quarter of all countries were in the high\/very high range on one index and the low\/moderate range on the other index.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here is a breakdown:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>62%<\/strong> of the countries and territories analyzed (123 out of 198 studied) had low or moderate GRI scores <em>and<\/em> SHI scores, on average, from 2018 through 2022. For example, South Korea, Canada and the United States are among these countries.[1. On the Government Restrictions Index (GRI), we categorize scores from 0.0 to 4.4 as low or moderate and scores from 4.5 to 10.0 as high or very high. On the Social Hostilities Index (SHI), we categorize scores from 0.0 to 3.5 as low or moderate and scores from 3.6 to 10.0 as high or very high.]<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>12%<\/strong> (or 24 countries) had high or very high GRI scores <em>and <\/em>SHI scores, on average, in the same five-year period. Egypt and India are among these countries.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>16% <\/strong>(or 32 countries) had high or very high GRI scores but had low or moderate SHI scores. China and Cuba are among these countries.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>10%<\/strong> (or 19 countries) had low or moderate GRI scores but were in the high or very high range of SHI scores. Brazil and the Philippines are among these countries.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Most countries that had high or very high GRI scores nevertheless had low or moderate SHI scores (32 of 56 countries, or 57%).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Researchers looked at mean (i.e., average) GRI and SHI scores over the most recent five years of the study (2018-2022). This multiyear analysis reduces the impact of the year-to-year fluctuations that occur in the index scores of many individual countries, and thus offers a more stable set of scores.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-style-callout has-ui-beige-very-light-background-color has-background is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"background-on-the-study\">Background on the study<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since 2007, Pew Research Center has been tracking restrictions on religion on two 10-point indexes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul style=\"font-size:14px\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"has-sans-serif-font-family has-small-label-font-size\"><strong>The&nbsp;Government Restrictions Index (GRI):<\/strong>&nbsp;Government restrictions on religion include laws, policies and actions that regulate or limit religious beliefs and practices. They also include policies that single out religious groups or ban particular beliefs or practices; the granting of benefits to some religious groups but not others; and bureaucratic rules that require religious groups to register to receive benefits.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-sans-serif-font-family has-small-label-font-size\"><strong>The&nbsp;Social Hostilities Index (SHI):&nbsp;<\/strong>Social hostilities include actions by private individuals or groups that target particular religious groups, often minorities. They can involve religion-related harassment, mob violence, terrorism and militant activity, as well as hostilities over religious conversions or the wearing of religious symbols and clothing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 data-is-section=\"true\" data-wp-context=\"{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;countries-with-low-or-moderate-scores-on-both-indexes&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"{&quot;namespace&quot;:&quot;prc-block\\\/table-of-contents&quot;}\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"countries-with-low-or-moderate-scores-on-both-indexes\">Countries with low or moderate scores on both indexes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A majority of countries (123 out of 198 studied, or 62%) have scored in the \u201clow\u201d to \u201cmoderate\u201d range on both the GRI <em>and<\/em> the SHI, on average, from 2018 through 2022. Nearly all countries in this group (121 out of the 123) have populations under 60 million, including South Korea, Canada and Ghana. In 34 of these countries, the population is under 1 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">(Among the 34 countries with fewer than 1 million people, nine had mean SHI scores of 0.0 out of 10.0, meaning that from 2018 to 2022, no social hostilities were recorded for those countries. These countries include the small island states of Palau and Nauru. In addition, three countries with populations <em>over<\/em> 1 million \u2013 Botswana, Namibia and Lesotho \u2013 also had a mean SHI score of 0.0 during this period.)[2. There are an additional&nbsp;seven&nbsp;countries that&nbsp;have average scores between 0.0 and 0.05, out of 10.0. These countries had some social hostilities involving religion during this time period, but their scores round to zero and therefore they appear as&nbsp;zeros in&nbsp;the chart.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Looking regionally, 32 of 35 countries in the Americas had low or moderate scores on both scales in 2022, compared with 33 of 45 countries in Europe, 34 of 48 in sub-Saharan Africa, and 24 of 50 in the Asia-Pacific region. No countries in the Middle East-North Africa region had low or moderate scores on both the GRI and SHI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-640-wide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?attachment_id=196045\"><img data-dominant-color=\"f8f9f9\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #f8f9f9;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" height=\"797\" width=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-02.png?w=822\" alt=\"Scatter plot showing countries with \u2018low\u2019 or \u2018moderate\u2019 GRI and SHI scores, 2018-2022\" class=\"wp-image-196045 not-transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-02.png 1280w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-02.png?resize=241,300 241w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-02.png?resize=768,956 768w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-02.png?resize=822,1024 822w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-02.png?resize=1233,1536 1233w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-02.png?resize=325,405 325w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-02.png?resize=200,249 200w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-02.png?resize=260,324 260w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-02.png?resize=310,386 310w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-02.png?resize=420,523 420w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-02.png?resize=640,797 640w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-02.png?resize=740,922 740w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-02.png?resize=160,199 160w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-02.png?resize=320,399 320w\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In general, countries with low to moderate levels of government restrictions were somewhat more likely than other countries to also have low to moderate levels of social hostilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 data-is-section=\"true\" data-wp-context=\"{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;countries-with-high-or-very-high-scores-on-both-indexes&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"{&quot;namespace&quot;:&quot;prc-block\\\/table-of-contents&quot;}\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"countries-with-high-or-very-high-scores-on-both-indexes\">Countries with high or very high scores on both indexes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two dozen countries fell into the high or very high GRI <em>and<\/em> SHI categories in terms of mean scores from 2018 through 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many of these countries experienced religion-related wars, militant activity or ongoing sectarian violence. For example, sectarian tensions and violence have been reported in multiple years during this period in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Iraq, Israel, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Syria, Thailand and Yemen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Thailand, for instance, a yearslong conflict continued in 2022 in the Deep South region, where <a href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/reports\/2021-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices\/thailand\">attacks by \u201csuspected insurgents\u201d fueled tensions between ethnic Malay Muslims and ethnic Thai Buddhists<\/a>, according to a U.S. State Department report on human rights practices. Martial law has been in effect in the southern provinces since 2006, shielding state security forces from accountability, and there have been multiple reports of excessive force by the military when conducting raids or arresting people. One such case involved <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2019\/08\/26\/thailand-investigate-detainees-death\">an ethnic Malay Muslim rubber farmer who died in military custody in 2019<\/a> after being accused of taking part in the insurgency, according to Human Rights Watch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Also in this category are a handful of countries in South Asia that, for many years, have had religion-related violence by nongovernmental actors while also having high or very high government restrictions. India and Pakistan, for example, have had high or very high GRI and SHI scores every year since the study began in 2007, while Bangladesh has had high or very high scores in <em>most<\/em> years. (For more details on 2022 events in India and Pakistan, read <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2024\/12\/18\/median-scores-for-government-restrictions-and-social-hostilities-stay-the-same-in-2022\/\">Chapter 3<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-640-wide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?attachment_id=196046\"><img data-dominant-color=\"f8f8f7\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #f8f8f7;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" height=\"804\" width=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-03.png?w=811\" alt=\"Scatter plot showing the countries with \u2018high\u2019 or \u2018very high\u2019 GRI and SHI scores, 2018-2022\" class=\"wp-image-196046 not-transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-03.png 1280w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-03.png?resize=239,300 239w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-03.png?resize=768,965 768w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-03.png?resize=815,1024 815w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-03.png?resize=1223,1536 1223w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-03.png?resize=322,405 322w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-03.png?resize=200,251 200w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-03.png?resize=260,327 260w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-03.png?resize=310,389 310w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-03.png?resize=420,528 420w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-03.png?resize=640,804 640w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-03.png?resize=740,930 740w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-03.png?resize=160,201 160w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-03.png?resize=320,402 320w\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nine out of the 20 countries in the Middle East-North Africa region also are in this category, including Iraq and Syria (for details on events in these two countries, jump to <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2024\/12\/18\/median-scores-for-government-restrictions-and-social-hostilities-stay-the-same-in-2022\/\">Chapter 3<\/a>). By comparison, 10 of the 50 Asia-Pacific countries and four of the 45 European countries have been in the high or very high range on both indexes, on average, from 2018 through 2022. Just one of the 48 countries in sub-Saharan Africa fell in these categories during that time span, and none of the 35 countries in the Americas did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 data-is-section=\"true\" data-wp-context=\"{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;countries-with-high-gri-scores-and-low-or-moderate-shi-scores&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"{&quot;namespace&quot;:&quot;prc-block\\\/table-of-contents&quot;}\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"countries-with-high-gri-scores-and-low-or-moderate-shi-scores\">Countries with high GRI scores and low or moderate SHI scores<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Among the 198 countries and territories analyzed in the study, 32 had high or very high levels of government restrictions while also having low or moderate levels of social hostilities from 2018 to 2022. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Of the countries in this category, more than two-thirds (or 22 out of the 32) are classified as authoritarian on the 2022 Democracy Index of the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).[3. These scores are based on assessments by the Economist Intelligent Unit (EIU) of democratic rights and democratic institutions in 167 countries and territories. (The EIU does not make assessments for all 198 countries and territories analyzed in this Pew Research Center study). The EIU assessments review states based on 60 questions that broadly cover five themes: electoral process and pluralism, civil liberties, the functioning of government, political participation, and political culture. Each state is given a numeric score between 0 and 10 on the index and is classified into four regime types: full democracies (scores greater than 8), flawed democracies (scores greater than 6 and less than or equal to 8), hybrid regimes (scores greater than 4 and less than or equal to 6) and authoritarian regimes (scores less than or equal to 4). The EIU\u2019s findings for 2022 can be accessed by downloading <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eiu.com\/n\/campaigns\/democracy-index-2023\/\">the EIU\u2019s 2023 report<\/a>.] Most of these countries (20 of the 32) also have governments that give preferential treatment to certain favored or official religions. And nine of the 32 have governments that our analysis classifies as being hostile to religious institutions more generally.[4. Countries that give preferential treatment or official status to a religious group can enshrine such benefits through the constitution or other laws and may provide benefits that favor that group over others. Countries that are hostile to religion tend to tightly control religious institutions by restricting legal status, funding or activities of the group\u2019s leaders and members. <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2017\/10\/03\/many-countries-favor-specific-religions-officially-or-unofficially\/\">Our 2017 report<\/a> looked specifically at countries with preferred religions, countries with official religions, and countries with governments that are hostile toward religious institutions.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There were no countries in this subset that were classified by the EIU as \u201cfull democracies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The prevalence of authoritarianism among countries with high or very high government restrictions was explored in <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2020\/11\/10\/in-2018-government-restrictions-on-religion-reach-highest-level-globally-in-more-than-a-decade\/\">a previous Pew Research Center analysis of GRI and SHI data<\/a> from 2018. The pattern found in the present study is that countries displaying a combination of high or very high levels of government restrictions and low or moderate levels of social hostilities tend to have authoritarian governments, give preferential treatment to one or more religions, or have a general hostile relationship toward religious institutions. Such regimes may tightly control religion as part of broader restrictions on civil liberties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Countries with high GRI scores and low or moderate SHI scores include post-Soviet states classified as authoritarian by the EIU, including Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. All have been classified in <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2017\/10\/03\/many-countries-favor-specific-religions-officially-or-unofficially\/\">a previous Pew Research Center analysis<\/a> as having a \u201chostile\u201d relationship toward religion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">China, Cuba and Vietnam also are authoritarian regimes (according to the Economist\u2019s classification) that have high or very high GRI scores but are in the low or moderate range of social hostilities. All three governments also are generally hostile toward religious institutions, according to the previous Center study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/reports\/2022-report-on-international-religious-freedom\/china\/\">China, which bans religious and spiritual \u201ccults\u201d whose popular followings might pose a challenge to the ruling Chinese Communist Party<\/a>, has had very high GRI scores every year since the inception of the study, along with low or moderate levels of social hostilities in most years. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/reports\/2022-report-on-international-religious-freedom\/cuba\/\">In Cuba, the government targets Christian leaders<\/a> who oppose the ruling Cuban Communist Party. Cuba has had \u201chigh\u201d government restrictions in <em>most <\/em>years of the study, but low social hostilities in almost all years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another country with this combination of high GRI and low or moderate SHI scores is Singapore, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/reports\/2022-report-on-international-religious-freedom\/singapore\/\">small but religiously diverse country<\/a> that is classified as a \u201cflawed democracy\u201d by the EIU. Singapore has had high or very high GRI scores, along with low or moderate SHI scores, in nearly all years of the study dating back to 2007. While Singaporean officials have repeatedly said that the country is committed to a multiracial and multireligious society marked by \u201creligious harmony,\u201d restrictive policies toward some religious groups \u2013 such as a ban on Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses \u2013 have driven up Singapore\u2019s GRI scores.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-640-wide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?attachment_id=196061\"><img data-dominant-color=\"f6f6f6\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #f6f6f6;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" height=\"822\" width=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-04.png?w=797\" alt=\"Scatter plot showing the countries with \u2018high\u2019 or \u2018very high\u2019 GRI scores and \u2018low\u2019 or \u2018moderate\u2019 SHI scores, 2018-2022\" class=\"wp-image-196061 not-transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-04.png 1280w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-04.png?resize=234,300 234w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-04.png?resize=768,986 768w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-04.png?resize=797,1024 797w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-04.png?resize=1196,1536 1196w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-04.png?resize=315,405 315w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-04.png?resize=200,257 200w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-04.png?resize=260,334 260w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-04.png?resize=310,398 310w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-04.png?resize=420,539 420w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-04.png?resize=640,822 640w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-04.png?resize=740,950 740w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-04.png?resize=160,206 160w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-04.png?resize=320,411 320w\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Most countries with high GRI scores and low or moderate SHI scores are located either in the Middle East-North Africa region (9 of the region\u2019s 20 countries fall into this category) or the Asia-Pacific region (15 of 50 countries). Fewer countries in Europe (3 of 45), sub-Saharan Africa (4 of 48) or the Americas (1 of 35) are in this category.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 data-is-section=\"true\" data-wp-context=\"{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;countries-with-high-shi-scores-and-low-gri-scores&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"{&quot;namespace&quot;:&quot;prc-block\\\/table-of-contents&quot;}\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"countries-with-high-shi-scores-and-low-gri-scores\">Countries with high SHI scores and low GRI scores<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Of the 198 countries and territories studied, 19 had high or very high SHI scores while scoring in the low or moderate range of government restrictions on religion, on average, from 2018 through 2022. They include three countries classified by the EIU in 2022 as \u201cfull democracies\u201d (Denmark, Germany and the United Kingdom) and three classified as \u201cflawed democracies\u201d (Belgium, Brazil and the Philippines). Eight additional countries in this group were classified as authoritarian regimes and four as hybrid regimes.[5. The EIU did not have enough data to classify one of these 19 countries, Somalia.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-640-wide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?attachment_id=196062\"><img data-dominant-color=\"f7f7f7\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #f7f7f7;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" height=\"823\" width=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-05.png?w=796\" alt=\"Scatter plot showing the countries with \u2018low\u2019 or \u2018moderate\u2019 GRI scores and \u2018high\u2019 or \u2018very high\u2019 SHI scores, 2018-2022\" class=\"wp-image-196062 not-transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-05.png 1280w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-05.png?resize=233,300 233w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-05.png?resize=768,988 768w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-05.png?resize=796,1024 796w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-05.png?resize=1194,1536 1194w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-05.png?resize=315,405 315w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-05.png?resize=200,257 200w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-05.png?resize=260,334 260w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-05.png?resize=310,399 310w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-05.png?resize=420,540 420w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-05.png?resize=640,823 640w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-05.png?resize=740,952 740w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-05.png?resize=160,206 160w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-05.png?resize=320,412 320w\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nine of the 48 countries in sub-Saharan Africa fall within these categories (countries with high SHI and low GRI scores) on our indexes, as do five of the 45 countries in Europe, two of the 35 countries in the Americas, one of the 50 Asia-Pacific countries, and two of the 20 countries in the Middle East-North Africa region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 data-is-section=\"true\" data-wp-context=\"{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;restrictions-on-religion-in-2022&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"{&quot;namespace&quot;:&quot;prc-block\\\/table-of-contents&quot;}\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"restrictions-on-religion-in-2022\">Restrictions on religion in 2022<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"government-restrictions\">Government restrictions<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While the global median score on the Government Restrictions Index held steady in 2022 at 3.0 out of a possible 10.0, the number of countries with high or very high levels of government restrictions on religion rose to 59 (30% of all 198 countries and territories studied), up from 55 in 2021. This was the highest number since the study began in 2007. Still, most countries around the world (139, or 70%) had low or moderate levels of government restrictions on religion in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-640-wide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?attachment_id=196063\"><img data-dominant-color=\"efe8e6\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #efe8e6;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" height=\"478\" width=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-06.png?w=1024\" alt=\"Chart showing the number of countries with \u2018high\u2019 or \u2018very high\u2019 government restrictions on religion peaked in 2022, as global median level of government restrictions stayed the same\" class=\"wp-image-196063 not-transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-06.png 1280w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-06.png?resize=300,224 300w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-06.png?resize=768,574 768w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-06.png?resize=1024,765 1024w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-06.png?resize=542,405 542w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-06.png?resize=200,149 200w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-06.png?resize=260,194 260w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-06.png?resize=310,232 310w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-06.png?resize=420,314 420w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-06.png?resize=640,478 640w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-06.png?resize=740,553 740w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-06.png?resize=160,120 160w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-06.png?resize=320,239 320w\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Government restrictions have gradually risen globally since 2007, when the median score on the GRI among all 197 countries and territories was 1.8. In 2021 and 2022, the median GRI score for all 198 countries and territories studied was 3.0.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"social-hostilities\">Social hostilities<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2022 the global median score on the Social Hostilities Index remained at 1.6 \u2013 the same as in 2021. At the same time, the number of countries with high or very high levels of social hostilities increased slightly to 45 (or 23% of all studied), up from 43 countries the previous year. Most countries (153, or 77%) had low or moderate levels of social hostilities involving religion in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-640-wide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?attachment_id=196064\"><img data-dominant-color=\"f0edea\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #f0edea;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" height=\"449\" width=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-07.png?w=1024\" alt=\"Chart showing the number of countries with \u2018high\u2019 or \u2018very high\u2019 social hostilities involving religion rose in 2022, while the global median level of social hostilities remained the same\" class=\"wp-image-196064 not-transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-07.png 1280w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-07.png?resize=300,210 300w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-07.png?resize=768,539 768w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-07.png?resize=1024,718 1024w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-07.png?resize=577,405 577w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-07.png?resize=200,140 200w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-07.png?resize=260,182 260w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-07.png?resize=310,217 310w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-07.png?resize=420,295 420w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-07.png?resize=640,449 640w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-07.png?resize=740,519 740w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-07.png?resize=160,112 160w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-07.png?resize=320,225 320w\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Social hostilities include incidents that tend to vary more widely from year to year than laws and government policies do. The worldwide median score on the SHI started at 1.0 in 2007, reached a peak of 2.1 in 2017, and fell to 1.6 in 2021, where it remained in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 data-is-section=\"true\" data-wp-context=\"{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;government-harassment-of-religious-groups-and-interference-in-worship-in-2022&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"{&quot;namespace&quot;:&quot;prc-block\\\/table-of-contents&quot;}\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"government-harassment-of-religious-groups-and-interference-in-worship-in-2022\">Government harassment of religious groups and interference in worship in 2022<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Harassment by governments \u2013 a broad measure that captures both verbal and physical pressure by authorities on religious groups \u2013 was one of the most prevalent types of restrictions we measured in 2022. It was reported in 186 of the 198 countries and territories in the study (94%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-420-wide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?attachment_id=196065\"><img data-dominant-color=\"f4f3f3\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #f4f3f3;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 420px) 100vw, 420px\" height=\"535\" width=\"420\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-08.png?w=804\" alt=\"Line chart showing that since 2007, the number of countries where governments have harassed religious groups or interfered in worship has increased\" class=\"wp-image-196065 not-transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-08.png 840w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-08.png?resize=236,300 236w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-08.png?resize=768,978 768w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-08.png?resize=804,1024 804w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-08.png?resize=318,405 318w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-08.png?resize=200,255 200w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-08.png?resize=260,331 260w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-08.png?resize=310,395 310w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-08.png?resize=420,535 420w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-08.png?resize=640,815 640w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-08.png?resize=740,943 740w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-08.png?resize=160,204 160w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_0-08.png?resize=320,408 320w\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Government interference in worship also remained common around the world in 2022. It was reported by the sources used in this study in 170 countries and territories (86%). We define \u201cgovernment interference\u201d to include policies and actions that disrupt religious activities, such as withholding permission to worship or denying access to places of worship. The term \u201cinterference\u201d also covers restrictions on religious practices and rituals not specifically tied to worship, such as burial practices or conscientious objections to military service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Figures on both government harassment and interference in worship were at peak levels for the study in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For more information on government harassment, go to <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2024\/12\/18\/number-of-countries-where-religious-groups-were-harassed-reached-new-peak-level-in-2022\/\">Chapter 2<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Long-term analysis of 198 countries and territories shows government restrictions on religion and social hostilities toward religious groups go hand in hand.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":675,"featured_media":196321,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","sub_headline":"Annual report includes a five-year look at the relationship between religion-related government restrictions and social hostilities in each country","sub_title":"","_prc_public_revisions":[],"_ppp_expiration_hours":0,"_ppp_enabled":false,"ai_generated_summary":"","bylines":[{"key":"_64yt3ixkt","termId":899}],"acknowledgements":[],"displayBylines":true,"relatedPosts":[{"key":"_i7gutwo17","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/feature\/religious-restrictions-around-the-world\/","postId":6519,"title":"Religious restrictions around the world","date":"2024-03-05 09:49:20","label":"Religious restrictions around the world"},{"key":"_zdu6hx0ad","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2024\/03\/05\/globally-government-restrictions-on-religion-reached-peak-levels-in-2021-while-social-hostilities-went-down\/","postId":69363,"title":"Globally, Government Restrictions on Religion Reached Peak Levels in 2021, While Social Hostilities Went Down","date":"2024-03-05 09:58:33","label":"Globally, Government Restrictions on Religion Reached Peak Levels in 2021, While Social Hostilities Went Down"},{"key":"_vlcgnorgk","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2024\/03\/05\/key-findings-about-religious-restrictions-around-the-world-in-2021\/","postId":7760,"title":"Key findings about religious restrictions around the world in 2021","date":"2024-03-05 09:58:55","label":"Key findings about religious restrictions around the world in 2021"},{"key":"_cv44b7yv6","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2022\/11\/29\/how-covid-19-restrictions-affected-religious-groups-around-the-world-in-2020\/","postId":70155,"title":"How COVID-19 Restrictions Affected Religious Groups Around the World in 2020","date":"2022-11-29 09:50:10","label":"How COVID-19 Restrictions Affected Religious Groups Around the World in 2020"},{"key":"_813e91ivs","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2021\/09\/30\/globally-social-hostilities-related-to-religion-decline-in-2019-while-government-restrictions-remain-at-highest-levels\/","postId":70820,"title":"Globally, Social Hostilities Related to Religion Decline in 2019, While Government Restrictions Remain at Highest Levels","date":"2021-09-30 09:42:30","label":"Globally, Social Hostilities Related to Religion Decline in 2019, While Government Restrictions Remain at Highest Levels"}],"reportMaterials":[{"key":"_5ext6h6zn","type":"report","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_report.pdf","label":"Report PDF","attachmentId":196412},{"key":"_fppwa9aik","type":"link","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_appendix-a.pdf","label":"Appendix A: Government Restrictions Index","icon":"link"},{"key":"_bvp60bb1v","type":"link","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_appendix-b.pdf ","label":"Appendix B: Social Hostilities Index","icon":"link"},{"key":"_o3x6g66mo","type":"link","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_appendix-c.pdf ","label":"Appendix C: Religious restrictions index scores by region","icon":"link"},{"key":"_99ym793lc","type":"link","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_appendix-d.pdf ","label":"Appendix D: Summary of results","icon":"link"},{"key":"_sr7ia2n9h","type":"link","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/12\/PR_2024.12.18_restrictions-on-religion-2022_appendix-e.pdf","label":"Appendix E: Results by country","icon":"link"},{"key":"_n6kvglkof","type":"link","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/feature\/religious-restrictions-around-the-world\/","label":"Interactive: Religious restrictions around the 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