Religious Freedom & Restrictions

Israel has been a Jewish-majority country since its founding in 1948, and its treatment of religious and ethnic minorities – including some groups within the Jewish community – has persisted as a hotly debated topic throughout the nation’s history.

Many countries have laws that ban or limit women from wearing religious attire in public places. By comparison, far fewer countries require women to wear particular types of attire for religious reasons.

Of the 4,705 reported fire incidents at houses of worship between 1996 and 2015, 2,378, or 51%, have been ruled intentional.

It’s a fascinating time for conversations about faith in the United States, with Pope Francis set to visit, a presidential election on the horizon and major trends reshaping the country’s religious landscape.

There has been considerable debate over the country's Muslims and the role of extremism, but no backlash against Muslims in French public opinion.

A new Indiana religious freedom law has sparked national debate. Some say it strengthens protection of religious liberty, while others say it could provide legal cover for businesses to discriminate. The U.S. public is divided over these types of issues.

The U.S. ranks in the middle range of the nearly 200 countries we analyzed to assess restrictions on religion and social hostilities toward religious groups.

Harassment and attacks against religious minorities continue in many countries there, and hostilities against Jews in particular have been spreading.

There was an overall decline in social hostilities to religion in 2013, though harassment of Jews worldwide reached a high. These are five key takeaways from our religious restrictions report.