{"id":70820,"date":"2021-09-30T09:42:30","date_gmt":"2021-09-30T14:42:30","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-12-19T16:18:42","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T21:18:42","slug":"globally-social-hostilities-related-to-religion-decline-in-2019-while-government-restrictions-remain-at-highest-levels","status":"publish","type":"post","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\/","title":{"rendered":"Globally, Social Hostilities Related to Religion Decline in 2019, While Government Restrictions Remain at Highest Levels"},"content":{"rendered":"<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 12th in a series of annual reports by Pew Research Center analyzing the extent to which governments and societies around the world impinge on religious beliefs and practices. The studies are part of the Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures project, which analyzes religious change and its impact on societies around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To measure global restrictions on religion in 2019 \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>The&nbsp;<strong>Government Restrictions Index&nbsp;<\/strong><strong>(GRI) <\/strong>measures government laws, policies and actions that restrict religious beliefs and practices. The GRI comprises 20 measures of restrictions, including efforts by government to ban particular faiths, prohibit conversion, limit preaching or give preferential treatment to one or more religious groups.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The&nbsp;<strong>Social Hostilities Index&nbsp;<\/strong><strong>(SHI)<\/strong> 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. Department of State\u2019s annual reports on international religious freedom and annual reports from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, as well as reports and databases from a variety of European and United Nations bodies and several independent, nongovernmental organizations. (See&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2021\/09\/30\/methodology-42-4\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2021\/09\/30\/methodology-42-4\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Methodology<\/a>&nbsp;for more details on sources used in the study.)<\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em><em>For the latest data on government restrictions and social hostilities involving religion, read our report <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2024\/12\/18\/government-restrictions-on-religion-stayed-at-peak-levels-globally-in-2022\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2024\/12\/18\/government-restrictions-on-religion-stayed-at-peak-levels-globally-in-2022\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>\u201cGovernment Restrictions on Religion Stayed at Peak Levels Globally in 2022\u201d<\/em><\/a><em> and visit the interactive <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/feature\/religious-restrictions-around-the-world\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>\u201cReligious restrictions around the world.\u201d<\/em><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>CORRECTION (DEC. 19, 2025): Some text, charts and appendices have been revised to correct for the inadvertent inclusion of a measure on online social harassment in each country\u2019s 2019 SHI.Q.1 score (\u201cWere there crimes, malicious acts or violence motivated by religious hatred or bias?\u201d). The corrections result in small changes (no more than 0.1 point) to the overall Social Hostilities Index score for 88 countries in 2019. All resulting changes have been marked in this report.&nbsp;A separate correction has been made&nbsp;to include Armenia in a chart&nbsp;in the report Overview. Armenia was included as an example in the text but was incorrectly omitted from the chart showing countries that use technology to surveil religious groups. These changes do not affect the overall substantive findings of the report.<\/em> <em>For a full list of changes, refer to the <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/12\/PR_2021.09.30_restrictions-on-religion-2019_errata.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">errata page<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Social hostilities involving religion, <\/strong>including violence and harassment against religious groups by private individuals and groups, declined in 2019, according to Pew Research Center\u2019s 12th annual study of global restrictions on religion, which examines 198 countries and territories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2019 \u2013 the most recent year for which data is available, covering a period before the disruptions accompanying the coronavirus pandemic \u2013 43 countries (22% of all those included in the study) had \u201chigh\u201d or \u201cvery high\u201d levels of social hostilities. That is down from 53 countries (27%) in 2018, and from a peak of 65 countries (33%) in 2012. These figures have fluctuated since the study began in 2007, but the number of countries with at least \u201chigh\u201d levels of social hostilities related to religion is now the lowest since 2009.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another way of looking at the data is by examining scores on the Social Hostilities Index (SHI), a 10-point scale based on 13 indicators of social hostilities involving religion. The global median score declined from 2.0 in 2018 to 1.7 in 2019, reaching its lowest level since 2014.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-640-wide is-resized\"><a href=\"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\/pf_09-30-21_restrictions-0-0-png\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-36139\"><img data-dominant-color=\"f4f1ef\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/09\/PF_09.30.21_restrictions-0-0.png?resize=480,296 480w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/09\/PF_09.30.21_restrictions-0-0.png?resize=782,481 782w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/09\/PF_09.30.21_restrictions-0-0.png?resize=960,591 960w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/09\/PF_09.30.21_restrictions-0-0.png?resize=1200,739 1200w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/09\/PF_09.30.21_restrictions-0-0.png?resize=1280,788 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" height=\"394\" width=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/09\/PF_09.30.21_restrictions-0-0.png?w=640\" alt=\"Social hostilities related to religion declined in 2019\" class=\"wp-image-81900 not-transparent\" style=\"--dominant-color: #f4f1ef; width:640px;height:auto\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-420-wide\"><a href=\"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\/pf_09-30-21_restrictions-0-1-png\/\"><img data-dominant-color=\"e8e1d8\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #e8e1d8;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/09\/PF_09.30.21_restrictions-0-1.png?resize=480,880 480w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/09\/PF_09.30.21_restrictions-0-1.png?resize=782,1434 782w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/09\/PF_09.30.21_restrictions-0-1.png?resize=840,1540 840w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" height=\"770\" width=\"420\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/09\/PF_09.30.21_restrictions-0-1.png?w=559\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-81904 not-transparent\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A drop in the number of countries experiencing <strong>religion-related terrorism<\/strong> (including deaths, physical abuse, displacement, detentions, destruction of property, and fundraising and recruitment by terrorist groups) is among the factors behind the decrease in social hostilities. In 2019, 49 countries experienced at least one of these types of religion-related terrorism, a record low for the study. That was down from 64 countries in 2018, and from a record high of 82 countries in 2014. The decline from 2018 occurred in four of the five regions analyzed: the Americas, the Asia-Pacific region, Europe and the Middle East-North Africa region. Only in sub-Saharan Africa did the number of countries with religion-related terrorism remain stable in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There also were fewer countries where religion-related terrorism led to deaths or injuries. In 2019, 47 countries had at least one casualty due to religion-related terrorism, down from 57 countries in 2018. In Morocco, for example, two Scandinavian hikers were murdered in 2018 by perpetrators who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group (also known as ISIS, ISIL and <em>Daesh<\/em>), a militant Islamist organization; in 2019, no casualties from religion-related terrorism were reported in Morocco by the sources used in this study.[1. Freedom House. February 2019. \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/freedomhouse.org\/country\/morocco\/freedom-world\/2019\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Morocco<\/a>.\u201d Freedom in the World 2019.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The decline echoes a broader pattern recorded around the world in recent years. According to the Global Terrorism Database, which tracks a wide variety of terrorist incidents regardless of whether they are related to religion and is used as a source for this study, 2019 was \u201cthe fifth consecutive year of declining global terrorism\u201d since a peak in 2014.[2. National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START). July 2020. &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.start.umd.edu\/pubs\/START_GTD_GlobalTerrorismOverview2019_July2020.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Global Terrorism Overview: Terrorism in 2019<\/a>.&#8221; The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.start.umd.edu\/gtd\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Global Terrorism Database<\/a> is managed by the START program at the University of Maryland.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That year, 2014, had many incidents of terrorist activity by the armed group ISIS and its affiliates, and by the militant Islamist group Boko Haram. ISIS formally established itself in Syria and Iraq in 2014 and engaged in a series of hostile acts \u2013 including mass executions, forced displacement of people, and the abduction and sexual abuse of thousands of women and children \u2013 against religious minorities and those viewed as opposing their group\u2019s interpretation of Islam.[3. The United Nations declared that some of these actions amount to genocide, and other international groups have described some of these hostilities as war crimes and crimes against humanity. UN News. May 10, 2021. \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/news.un.org\/en\/story\/2021\/05\/1091662\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ISIL crimes against Yazidis constitute genocide, UN investigation team finds.<\/a>\u201d See also Amnesty International. July 30, 2020.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amnesty.org\/en\/latest\/news\/2020\/07\/iraq-yezidi-child-survivors-of-islamic-state-facing-unprecedented-health-crisis\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u201cIraq: Yezidi child survivors of \u2018Islamic State\u2019 facing unprecedented health crisis.<\/a>&#8220;] ISIS also successfully recruited foreigners to join the fighting in Iraq and Syria and inspired affiliate groups and \u201clone offender\u201d attacks globally.[4. U.S. Department of State. June 2015. \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/2009-2017.state.gov\/j\/ct\/rls\/crt\/2014\/239403.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Chapter 1. Strategic Assessment.<\/a>\u201d Country Reports on Terrorism 2014.] And Boko Haram kidnapped more than 250 schoolgirls, mainly Christians, from a school in Chibok, Nigeria, drawing international attention that year.[5. U.S. Department of State. October 2015. \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/2009-2017.state.gov\/j\/drl\/rls\/irf\/2014religiousfreedom\/index.htm#wrapper\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Executive Summary<\/a>.\u201d International Religious Freedom Report for 2014. See also Strochlic, Nina. March 2020. \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalgeographic.com\/magazine\/article\/six-years-ago-boko-haram-kidnapped-276-schoolgirls-where-are-they-now\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Six years ago, Boko Haram kidnapped 276 schoolgirls. Where are they now?<\/a>\u201d National Geographic Magazine.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Among the reasons for the decline in the study\u2019s terrorism measures is that ISIS subsequently lost control of a large swath of territory in Iraq and Syria. In 2019, the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS declared that the militant group had been territorially defeated. And the number of violent attacks perpetrated by the group declined in Iraq in 2019, according to the Global Terrorism Database.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Still, ISIS\u2019s multinational network of organizations remained active. Groups pledging allegiance to ISIS carried out bombings in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, 2019, killing more than 250 people and injuring approximately 500 others at churches and hotels. Another exception to this overall decline in terrorism in 2019 was Afghanistan, where the number of terrorist incidents \u2013 particularly attacks carried out by the Taliban \u2013 increased amid peace talks between the group and the United States, according to the Global Terrorism Database.[6. National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism. July 2020. \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.start.umd.edu\/pubs\/START_GTD_GlobalTerrorismOverview2019_July2020.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Global Terrorism Overview: Terrorism in 2019<\/a>.\u201d]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Beyond terrorism, other measures of religion-related social hostilities around the world also declined in 2019. For example, there were fewer countries with reports of mob violence related to religion (down from 41 countries in 2018 to 34 in 2019), hostilities over proselytizing (from 35 in 2018 to 28 in 2019), organized groups using force or coercion in an attempt to dominate public life with their perspectives on religion (104 to 94 countries), and individuals using violence or the threat of violence to enforce religious norms (85 to 74 countries). (See <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/09\/PF_09.30.21_religious.restrictions_AppendixD.pdf\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/09\/PF_09.30.21_religious.restrictions_AppendixD.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Appendix D<\/a> for full results.)[7. For a number of questions on the Social Hostilities Index, researchers look at incidents in the U.S. Department of State\u2019s International Religious Freedom Reports from the coding year and the previous two years to capture ongoing hostilities. The decreases in some social hostilities measures in 2019 partially reflect a decline in ongoing social hostilities. See <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2021\/09\/30\/methodology-42-4\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Methodology<\/a> for more details on the specific questions that are coded this way.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Bolivia, for example, Protestant missionaries and pastors had been expelled in 2018 from rural areas where Indigenous spiritual beliefs are practiced, but no such expulsions were reported in 2019.[8. U.S. Department of State. June 2019. \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/reports\/2018-report-on-international-religious-freedom\/bolivia\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Bolivia<\/a>.\u201d International Religious Freedom Report for 2018. See also U.S. Department of State. June 2020. \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/reports\/2019-report-on-international-religious-freedom\/bolivia\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Bolivia<\/a>.\u201d International Religious Freedom Report for 2019.] And in Egypt, where social hostilities fell from \u201cvery high\u201d to \u201chigh\u201d in 2019, anti-Christian attacks (such as those against the Coptic Christian minority) and violence by Islamist groups declined, according to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). Although violence toward Christians continued in the country, there were fewer abductions and displacements reported in 2019.[9. U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. April 2020. \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.uscirf.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/USCIRF%202020%20Annual%20Report_Final_42920.pdf#page=72\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Egypt<\/a>.\u201d 2020 Annual Report.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Looking at overall social hostilities involving religion by region, the median scores on the Social Hostilities Index (SHI) fell in 2019 in the Asia-Pacific region, Europe and sub-Saharan Africa. Levels of social hostilities remained stable and relatively high in the Middle East-North Africa region, where more than half of countries (55%) continued to have \u201chigh\u201d or \u201cvery high\u201d levels of social hostilities. They remained steady in the Americas, where social hostilities involving religion are rare compared with the rest of the world. See <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\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2024\/12\/18\/median-scores-for-government-restrictions-and-social-hostilities-stay-the-same-in-2022\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Chapter 3<\/a> for details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 data-is-section=\"true\" data-wp-context=\"{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;government-restrictions-involving-religion-stayed-at-the-highest-level-since-the-study-began&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"{&quot;namespace&quot;:&quot;prc-block\\\/table-of-contents&quot;}\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"government-restrictions-involving-religion-stayed-at-the-highest-level-since-the-study-began\"><a name=\"_Toc83247581\"><\/a>Government restrictions involving religion stayed at the highest level since the study began<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In addition to looking at social hostilities relating to religion, this annual study also examines <strong>government restrictions on religion<\/strong> \u2013 including official laws, policies and actions that impinge on religious beliefs and practices \u2013 in 198 countries and territories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The analysis shows that government restrictions involving religion, which in 2018 had reached the highest point since the start of the study, remained at a similar level in 2019. The global median score on the Government Restrictions Index (GRI), a 10-point index based on 20 indicators, held steady at 2.9. This score has risen markedly since 2007, the first year of the study, when it was 1.8.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The total number of countries with \u201chigh\u201d or \u201cvery high\u201d levels of government restrictions rose in 2019 to 57 (29% of all countries in the study). This is up one country from 2018 and matches the study\u2019s highest mark, from 2012.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-640-wide\"><a href=\"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\/pf_09-30-21_restrictions-0-2-png\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-36141\"><img data-dominant-color=\"f2ecea\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #f2ecea;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/09\/PF_09.30.21_restrictions-0-2.png?resize=480,311 480w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/09\/PF_09.30.21_restrictions-0-2.png?resize=782,506 782w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/09\/PF_09.30.21_restrictions-0-2.png?resize=960,621 960w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/09\/PF_09.30.21_restrictions-0-2.png?resize=1200,776 1200w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/09\/PF_09.30.21_restrictions-0-2.png?resize=1280,828 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" height=\"414\" width=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/09\/PF_09.30.21_restrictions-0-2.png?w=640\" alt=\"Government restrictions on religion match highest level since 2007\" class=\"wp-image-81908 not-transparent\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As has been the case in all previous years studied, most countries with \u201chigh\u201d or \u201cvery high\u201d levels of government restrictions in 2019 were either in the Asia-Pacific region (25 of the 50 countries in that region) or in the Middle East-North Africa region (19 of 20 countries).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Looking at government restrictions and social hostilities together, 75 countries (38% of those included in the study) had \u201chigh\u201d or \u201cvery high\u201d levels of <strong>overall restrictions<\/strong> on religion in 2019, down from 80 countries (40%) in 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For full results, see <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/12\/PF_09.30.21_AppendixE.pdf\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/12\/PF_09.30.21_AppendixE.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Appendix E<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-640-wide\"><a href=\"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\/pf_09-30-21_restrictions-0-3-png\/\"><img data-dominant-color=\"f1f0f0\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #f1f0f0;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/09\/PF_09.30.21_restrictions-0-3.png?resize=480,274 480w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/09\/PF_09.30.21_restrictions-0-3.png?resize=782,446 782w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/09\/PF_09.30.21_restrictions-0-3.png?resize=960,548 960w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/09\/PF_09.30.21_restrictions-0-3.png?resize=1200,684 1200w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/09\/PF_09.30.21_restrictions-0-3.png?resize=1280,730 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" height=\"365\" width=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/09\/PF_09.30.21_restrictions-0-3.png?w=1024\" alt=\"Governments in more than 80% of countries in each region harassed religious groups in some way in 2019\" class=\"wp-image-81911 not-transparent\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\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-increased&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"{&quot;namespace&quot;:&quot;prc-block\\\/table-of-contents&quot;}\" id=\"government-harassment-of-religious-groups-and-interference-in-worship-increased\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a><\/a>Government harassment of religious groups and interference in worship increased<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two specific measures of government restrictions on religion increased globally in 2019: <strong>government harassment against religious groups<\/strong> and <strong>government interference in worship<\/strong>. More countries had at least one reported incident of government harassment or interference in worship in 2019 than in any other year since the study began in 2007.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While scores for these two measures of government restrictions increased in 2019, the scores for some other measures that make up the Government Restrictions Index decreased, which is why the global median score on the GRI remained stable. For example, fewer countries had limits on proselytizing and on foreign missionaries, and there were fewer reports of countries denouncing religious groups as \u201ccults\u201d or \u201csects.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 id=\"definition-government-harassment-of-religious-groups\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Definition: Government harassment of religious groups<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Government harassment of religious groups takes place when officials at any level of government (e.g., national, provincial or municipal) target a religious group or person due to their religious identity, beliefs or practices. This may range from physical coercion to verbal statements singling out a religious group or individual with the intent of making their religious practice (or some other aspect of their lives) more difficult. For example, negative public comments by government officials about religions constitute harassment, as do government policies that target particular religious groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In total, 180 countries \u2013 91% of all countries in the study \u2013 had at least one instance, at some level, of&nbsp;<strong>government harassment against religious&nbsp;<\/strong><strong>groups<\/strong>, compared with 175 countries in 2018. In this study, harassment against religious groups can range from verbal intimidation to physical violence motivated at least in part by the target\u2019s religious identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Governments in more than 80% of the countries&nbsp;<em>in&nbsp;each of the study\u2019s five regions <\/em>harassed religious groups in some way, including all 20 countries in the Middle East-North Africa region and 44 of 45 in Europe (98% of countries in the region). In sub-Saharan Africa, 90% of the region\u2019s 48 countries had such incidents, followed by 89% of the 35 countries in the Americas and 84% of countries in the Asia-Pacific region. In Tajikistan, for example, authorities in 2019 detained 17 Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses \u2013 a group whose activities are banned in the country \u2013 for \u201cpossessing religious materials and participating in religious activities.\u201d[10. U.S. Department of State. June 2020. \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/reports\/2019-report-on-international-religious-freedom\/tajikistan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Tajikistan<\/a>.\u201d International Religious Freedom Report for 2019.]&nbsp;(For more information on government harassment of specific religious groups, see <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2021\/09\/30\/harassment-of-religious-groups-reaches-new-peak-in-2019\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Chapter 2<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 id=\"definition-government-interference-in-worship\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Definition: Government interference in worship<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Government interference in worship includes withholding permission for religious activities or prohibiting particular religious practices at any level of government. Religious practices are defined broadly. They range from worship activities (such as prayer, preaching or performing rituals) to wearing religious attire, adhering to grooming customs such as maintaining a beard, conscientious objection to military service, the use of certain substances (such as peyote) in worship and following ritual burial practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 163 countries (82%), government authorities&nbsp;<strong>interfered in worship&nbsp;<\/strong>in ways such as prohibiting certain religious practices, withholding access to places of worship or denying permits for religious activities or buildings. In 2018, 156 countries interfered in worship in any of these ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">All 20 countries in the Middle East-North Africa region also had occurrences of government interference in worship in 2019. And, as with the government harassment measure, Europe had the second-highest share of countries where governments interfered in worship (91%), followed by 81% of countries in sub-Saharan Africa, 80% in the Americas and 70% in the Asia-Pacific region. In Europe, for example, there were numerous restrictions on religious symbols and clothing, such as in Austria, where laws prohibit full-face coverings in public and ban headscarves for children under age 10 in elementary school.[11. Freedom House. March 2020. \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/freedomhouse.org\/country\/austria\/freedom-world\/2020\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Austria<\/a>.\u201d Freedom in the World 2020.] And in Slovenia, where animal slaughter without prior stunning is prohibited, Muslims and Jews are not allowed to slaughter animals according to halal and kosher dietary guidelines, respectively.[12. United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief. September 2019. \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/undocs.org\/A\/74\/358\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Elimination of all forms of religious intolerance<\/a>.\u201d Report on Combating Anti-Semitism to Eliminate Discrimination and Intolerance Based on Religion or Belief.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While some level of government harassment of religious groups or interference in religious worship is common around the world, widespread physical harassment \u2013 i.e., <strong>government use of force<\/strong> against religious groups \u2013 is less common. In 96 of the 198 countries analyzed (48%), there was at least one report of governments using force against religious groups, including property damage, detention or arrests, ongoing displacement, physical abuse, and killings. In four of these countries \u2013 China, Myanmar (also called Burma), Sudan and Syria \u2013 there were more than 10,000 cases of government force against religious groups reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In China\u2019s Xinjiang province, various sources have reported the detention of almost a million Uyghur Muslims and members of other religious and ethnic minority groups, as well as the separation of children from their families to curb the influence of religion in their homes (for more details, see <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\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Chapter 3<\/a>).[13. U.S. Department of State. June 2020. \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/reports\/2019-report-on-international-religious-freedom\/china\/xinjiang\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">China-Xinjiang<\/a>.\u201d International Religious Freedom Report for 2019.] And in Syria, the government continued the \u201cwidespread and systematic use of unlawful killings\u201d of perceived opponents (mostly Sunni Muslims)\u00ad through torture, the destruction of civilian infrastructure, and the employment of chemical weapons, according to the U.S. State Department. The government also detained tens of thousands of Syrians, mainly Sunnis, without due process, according to numerous human rights organizations.[14. U.S. Department of State. June 2020. \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/reports\/2019-report-on-international-religious-freedom\/syria\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Syria<\/a>.\u201d International Religious Freedom Report for 2019.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In addition to ongoing restrictions on Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, which have been discussed 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\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">previous years of this study<\/a>, renewed fighting between the military and armed ethnic organizations in the country\u2019s states of Kachin and northern Shan \u201cdeeply impacted\u201d Christians, according to USCIRF. In 2019, thousands were displaced \u2013 including many Christians \u2013 in addition to more than 120,000 Rohingya who already had been internally displaced, and the military damaged over 300 churches.[15. U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. April 2020. \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.uscirf.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/USCIRF%202020%20Annual%20Report_Final_42920.pdf#page=18\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Burma<\/a>.\u201d 2020 Annual Report.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Sudan, a nongovernmental organization estimated that in the country\u2019s capital city, Khartoum, police arrested 40 women per day for violating Islamic dress standards.[16. U.S. Department of State. March 2020. \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/reports\/2019-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices\/sudan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Sudan<\/a>.\u201d 2019 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices.] (The \u201cpublic order law\u201d that allowed such arrests was later repealed at the end of 2019, after the administration of President Omar al-Bashir was overthrown in April of that year.) During the year, authorities also used force against at least 500 worshippers at a mosque for participating in antigovernment protests that eventually led to the removal of the president.[17. U.S. Department of State. June 2020. \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/reports\/2019-report-on-international-religious-freedom\/sudan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Sudan<\/a>.\u201d International Religious Freedom Report for 2019.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For more information on physical harassment involving government force against religious groups by region, see <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2021\/09\/30\/harassment-of-religious-groups-reaches-new-peak-in-2019\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Chapter 2<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 data-is-section=\"true\" data-wp-context=\"{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;religion-related-restrictions-online-and-use-of-technology-to-target-groups&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"{&quot;namespace&quot;:&quot;prc-block\\\/table-of-contents&quot;}\" id=\"religion-related-restrictions-online-and-use-of-technology-to-target-groups\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a><\/a>Religion-related restrictions online and use of technology to target groups<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This 12th study of religious restrictions by Pew Research Center includes for the first time a measure assessing <strong>online restrictions by governments<\/strong> related to religion, as well as the <strong>governmental use of new or advanced technologies<\/strong> such as surveillance cameras, facial recognition technology or biometric data to restrict or surveil religious groups. In order to keep coding consistent with previous years, these new measures are not included when calculating GRI scores for countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-420-wide\"><a href=\"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\/pf_09-30-21_restrictions-0-4-png\/\"><img data-dominant-color=\"ecedec\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #ecedec;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/09\/PF_09.30.21_restrictions-0-4.png?resize=480,545 480w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/09\/PF_09.30.21_restrictions-0-4.png?resize=782,888 782w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/09\/PF_09.30.21_restrictions-0-4.png?resize=840,954 840w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" height=\"477\" width=\"420\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/09\/PF_09.30.21_restrictions-0-4.png?w=840\" alt=\"Half of countries in Middle East-North Africa had government-imposed online restrictions on religion\" class=\"wp-image-81916 not-transparent\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In total, 28 countries and territories (14% of all 198 in the study) had some type of online governmental restriction&nbsp;in 2019 that was&nbsp;related to religion. Most were in either the Asia-Pacific region (15 countries) or in the Middle East-North Africa region (10 countries). For example, in Pakistan, where Islam is the official state religion, a cybercrimes court sentenced a Muslim man to five years in prison for posting \u201csacrilegious, blasphemous and derogatory\u201d content online about an early Islamic leader with ties to the Prophet Muhammad.[18. U.S. Department of State. June 2020. \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/reports\/2019-report-on-international-religious-freedom\/pakistan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pakistan<\/a>.\u201d International Religious Freedom Report for 2019.] And in the United Arab Emirates, the country\u2019s two main internet service providers, which are controlled by the government, blocked websites with information on Judaism, Christianity and atheism, as well as sites displaying testimonies from Muslim converts to Christianity.[19. U.S. Department of State. June 2020. \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/reports\/2019-report-on-international-religious-freedom\/united-arab-emirates\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">United Arab Emirates<\/a>.\u201d International Religious Freedom Report for 2019.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The study\u2019s sources reported that 11 countries used technology to surveil religious groups in 2019, with three of them \u2013 China, Russia and Vietnam \u2013 citing security or counterterrorism efforts as a reason for such restrictions. In some countries, specific religious groups were targeted. In Armenia, for instance, members of the Baha\u2019i faith alleged that authorities wiretapped the phones of a member of their community before charging him with facilitating illegal migration to the country.[20. U.S. Department of State. June 2020. \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/reports\/2019-report-on-international-religious-freedom\/armenia\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Armenia<\/a>.\u201d International Religious Freedom Report for 2019.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-420-wide\"><a href=\"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\/pf_09-30-21_restrictions-0-5-png\/\"><img data-dominant-color=\"eeefee\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #eeefee;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/09\/PF_09.30.21_restrictions-0-5.png?resize=480,567 480w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/09\/PF_09.30.21_restrictions-0-5.png?resize=782,924 782w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/09\/PF_09.30.21_restrictions-0-5.png?resize=840,992 840w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" height=\"496\" width=\"420\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/09\/PF_09.30.21_restrictions-0-5.png?w=840\" alt=\"Several countries use new technology to surveil religious groups\" class=\"wp-image-81921 not-transparent\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia\u2019s Ministry of Islamic Affairs monitored some sermon content at mosques using data from a mobile phone app it launched in 2018.[21. U.S. Department of State. June 2020. \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/reports\/2019-report-on-international-religious-freedom\/saudi-arabia\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Saudi Arabia<\/a>.\u201d International Religious Freedom Report for 2019.] In Iran, a human rights group reported that authorities launched targeted cyberattacks against religious minorities, such as Sufi Muslims, to steal their private information.[22. U.S. Department of State. June 2020. \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/reports\/2019-report-on-international-religious-freedom\/iran\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Iran<\/a>.\u201d International Religious Freedom Report for 2019.] And in China, the state installed surveillance equipment in churches, mosques, a synagogue and other houses of worship; the government also used facial recognition technology to monitor and collect biometric data on Uyghur Muslims and other groups deemed to be potential threats. Authorities in Xinjiang also required Uyghurs to install software on their phones to monitor their calls and messages.[23. U.S. Department of State. June 2020. \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/reports\/2019-report-on-international-religious-freedom\/china\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">China<\/a>.\u201d International Religious Freedom Report for 2019. See also Human Rights Watch. May 2019. \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/report\/2019\/05\/01\/chinas-algorithms-repression\/reverse-engineering-xinjiang-police-mass\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">China\u2019s Algorithms of Repression<\/a>.\u201d]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The following sections of the report discuss other changes in restrictions on religion in 2019, including countries with the most extensive government restrictions and social hostilities involving religion, and the extent of changes in restrictions since 2018 (<a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2021\/09\/30\/in-2019-decline-in-number-of-countries-with-very-high-government-restrictions-social-hostilities-involving-religion\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Chapter 1<\/a>); additional details on harassment of specific religious groups and types of physical harassment by region (<a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2021\/09\/30\/harassment-of-religious-groups-reaches-new-peak-in-2019\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Chapter 2<\/a>); and further analysis of restrictions on religion by region (<a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2021\/09\/30\/median-index-scores-for-government-restrictions-social-hostilities-involving-religion-declined-or-remained-stable-in-most-regions-in-2019\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Chapter 3<\/a>), and in the world\u2019s 25 most populous countries (<a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2021\/09\/30\/restrictions-on-religion-in-the-worlds-25-most-populous-countries-in-2019\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Chapter 4<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Full results for all countries are available in <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/12\/PF_09.30.21_AppendixE.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Appendix E<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Social hostilities involving religion, including violence and harassment against religious groups by private individuals and groups, declined in 2019, according to Pew Research Center\u2019s 12th annual study of global restrictions on religion, which examines 198 countries and territories.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":367,"featured_media":81933,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sub_headline":"Number of countries with terrorist activity related to religion declines for a fifth consecutive year","sub_title":"Number of countries with terrorist activity related to religion declines for a fifth consecutive year","_prc_public_revisions":[],"_ppp_expiration_hours":0,"_ppp_enabled":false,"ai_generated_summary":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"relatedPosts":[],"reportMaterials":[{"key":"_4y9uz1qrr","type":"report","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/09\/PF_09.30.21_religious_restrictions-Full_PDF.pdf","label":"Report PDF","attachmentId":81931},{"key":"_795dsc3ie","type":"link","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/09\/PF_09.30.21_religious.restrictions_AppendixA.pdf","label":"Appendix A: Government Restrictions Index","icon":"supplemental"},{"key":"_j1mbmiepg","type":"link","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/12\/PF_09.30.21_religious.restrictions_AppendixB.pdf","label":"Appendix 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