Religious Freedom & Restrictions

Social hostilities involving religion, including violence and harassment against religious groups by private individuals and groups, declined in 2019, according to Pew Research Center’s 12th annual study of global restrictions on religion, which examines 198 countries and territories.

The U.S. Muslim population has grown in the decades since 9/11, but views toward them have become increasingly polarized along political lines.

Indians see religious tolerance as a central part of who they are as a nation. Across the major religious groups, most people say it is very important to respect all religions to be “truly Indian.”

About one-fifth of those Americans who have experienced online harassment say they believe they were targeted because of their religion.

Women in 56 countries experienced social hostilities due to clothing that was deemed to violate religious or secular dress norms.

Government restrictions in 2018 were at their highest level since 2007, when Pew Research Center began tracking these trends.

In 2018, the global median level of government restrictions on religion – that is, laws, policies and actions by officials that impinge on religious beliefs and practices – continued to climb, reaching an all-time high since Pew Research Center began tracking these trends in 2007.

Republicans and Democrats' opinions differ on many aspects of the outbreak, including views about religious practices during the pandemic.

Black and Hispanic worshippers are less likely than their white counterparts to say they have gone to a house of worship recently.

Only 10 states are preventing in-person religious gatherings in any form, according to our analysis of recent state-level regulations.