Pew Report Shows Religious Restrictions Increasing ‘Markedly’ Over 10 Year Span
Restrictions on religious freedom have “increased markedly around the world.” That’s according to a Pew Research Center report released Monday. Pew annually tracks year-to-year changes in religious freedom around the world. This year’s report looks at all changes between 2007 and 2017.
The report details changes in eight different categories. Four deal with government restrictions, and four with social hostilities.
In 2007, 40 countries had “high or very high levels” of government restriction on religious freedom. By 2017, that number grew to 52 countries.
Social hostilities around the world went from 20 percent in 2007 to 28 percent in 2017. They include “violence and harassment by private individuals, organizations or groups.”
Here are four notable takeaways from the report.