International Religious Freedom & Restrictions

In 2021, government restrictions on religion – laws, policies and actions by state officials that limit religious beliefs and practices – reached a new peak globally. Harassment of religious groups and interference in worship were two of the most common forms of government restrictions worldwide that year.

For more than a decade, Pew Research Center has been tracking global patterns in restrictions on religion – both those imposed by governments and hostilities committed by individuals and social groups.

Between 2010 and 2018, the share of Chinese adults who identify with Christianity remained stable at about 2%.

The Chinese government closely regulates religious activity – here are 10 things to know about their policies on religion.

Incidents against Jewish people in 2020 ranged from verbal and physical assaults to vandalism of cemeteries and scapegoating for the pandemic.

Religiously unaffiliated people were harassed by governments, private groups or both in 27 countries in 2020.

79 countries and territories out of the 198 studied around the world (40%) had laws or policies in 2019 banning blasphemy.

Around a fifth (21%) of the 198 countries evaluated banned at least one religion-related group in 2019, our analysis found.

Pew Research Center’s political typology sorts Americans into cohesive, like-minded groups based on their values, beliefs, and views about politics and the political system. Use this tool to compare the groups on some key topics and their demographics.

Social hostilities around the world involving religion declined in 2019 to the lowest level in five years.