The Background:
The Pew study finds that restrictions on religion rose in each of the
five major regions of the world---including in the Americas and
sub-Saharan Africa, the two regions where overall restrictions
previously had been declining.
The Story: Restrictions on religion increased across the globe between mid-2009 and mid-2010, according to a new study by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life.
The percentage of countries with high or very high restrictions on
religious beliefs and practices rose from 31% in the year ending in
mid-2009 to 37% in the year ending in mid-2010, notes the report
"Because some of the most restrictive countries are very populous,
three-quarters of the world's approximately 7 billion people live in
countries with high government restrictions on religion or high social
hostilities involving religion, up from 70% a year earlier."
According to the report, the rising tide of restrictions is
attributable to a variety of factors, including increases in crimes,
malicious acts and violence motivated by religious hatred or bias, as
well as increased government interference with worship or other
religious practices. Continue at Joe Carter
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