Between mid-2006 and mid-2009, the study examined a total of 33 measures phrased as questions about government restrictions such as laws, policies and actions, and social hostilities such as acts of religious hostility by private individuals, organizations and social groups.
The most populous nations where restrictions increased in the three-year study period were Egypt, France, Algeria, Uganda, Malaysia, Yemen, Syria, Somalia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Hong Kong and Libya. Egypt, Algeria, Yemen, Syria and Libya have been part of the rolling wave of “Arab Spring” protests aimed at reforming — and, in some cases, removing — long-entrenched governments.
The most populous nations where social hostilities rose were China, Nigeria, Russia, Vietnam, Thailand, the United Kingdom, followed by three European nations each with fewer than 10 million citizens: Sweden, Bulgaria and Denmark.
The 10 nations with the highest levels of government restrictions on religion were, in order, Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, China, the Maldives, Malaysia, Burma (Myanmar), Eritrea and Indonesia.
The 10 countries with the highest levels of social hostility were Iraq, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Somalia, Indonesia, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Israel and Egypt.
The report noted the rise in hostilities across Europe, particularly France and Serbia.
“In France, members of Parliament began discussing whether women should be allowed to wear the burqa, and President Nicolas Sarkozy said the head-to-toe covering was ‘not welcome’ in French society,” the report said. “In Serbia, meanwhile, the government refused to legally register Jehovah’s Witnesses and several other minority religious groups.”
Comparing 2008 to 2009, the percentage of nations that banned worship services as a general policy jumped from 19 per cent to 25 per cent; the percentage of countries that regulated religious symbols including attire climbed from 21 per cent to 27 per cent; and the percentage of countries that limit religious literature or broadcasting rose from 40 per cent to 44 per cent.
“Governments sometimes restricted religious broadcasting or literature in less direct ways,” the report said. “In April 2009, for example, the Catholic Church reportedly was pressured by the Zambian government to relieve a priest of his duties after he strongly criticized the government on his popular radio program.”
More people facing religious restrictions worldwide
By Catholic News ServiceWASHINGTON - Close to one-third of the world’s citizens have faced increased restrictions on religious practice and expression imposed on them by their respective nations’ governments, according to a study issued Aug. 9 by the Pew Research Centre’s Forum on Public Life.
The report, “Rising Restrictions on Religion,” noted that such limitations are on the upswing in 23 of the world’s 198 nations, and that many of those countries are among the world’s most populous and fastest-growing in population.
By contrast, 12 nations were judged to have eased restrictions on religion. But the Pew report suggested that those countries “already scored low” in previous studies, while nations imposing greater restrictions “already had high or very high levels of restrictions or hostilities.” No changes were reported in 163 countries.
Christians faced harassment in more nations than any other religious adherents — 130 nations, followed by 117 nations for harassment of Muslims, 75 for Jews, 27 for Hindus and 16 for Buddhists. Christians and Muslims account for about half of the world’s population.
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