Religious Restrictions Around the World in 2018

 According to new results published earlier today by the Pew Research Center, religious restrictions increased around the world from 2017 to 2018.  Read the entire main page for the published report.   If you are interested, you can browse the full report here.

The main finding is that the median level of restrictions increased around the world from 2017 to 2018.  This continues a steady increase in restrictions around the world since 2007, which is the first year that the Pew Research Center began tracking.  They use a Government Restrictions Index (GRI) that rates each country on a 10-point scale.

The largest increases in restrictions from 2017-2018 occurred in Asia and the Pacific, while the region with the highest overall average restrictions continues to be the Middle East and North Africa.  In fact, in many countries in the Middle East and Africa, there were incidents in which force was used by the government against religious groups.

As you read the main page, consider the following questions:  What kinds of restrictions are experienced?  Which countries have the highest restrictions?  Are restrictions more common with certain types of government regimes than with others?

And if  you are really interested, guess whether you think the USA has "very high," "high," "moderate," or "low" GRI, and check out where they classify USA in Appendix A.  Are you surprised?