Religious Freedom Faces Restriction Worldwide


Bangalore: A rising tide of restrictions on religion spread across the world between mid-2009 and mid-2010, says a new study by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion and Public Life. Restrictions on religion increased in each of the five major regions of the world, including America and sub-Saharan Africa, where by and large restrictions previously had been declining.

The study pointed that the share of countries with high or very high restrictions on religious beliefs and practices rose from 31 percent in the year ending in mid-2009 to 37 percent in the year ending in mid-2010.

The rising tide of restrictions in the latest year is due to a variety of factors like increase in crimes, spiteful acts and violence motivated by religious hatred or bias, and increased government interference with worship or other religious practices. For example, in November 2009 constitutional referendum in Switzerland banned the construction of minarets on mosques in the country. In Indonesia, more than two dozen churches were forced to shut down due to pressure from Islamist extremists or local officials, etc.

As per the study, the signs of the trend included governments banning particular faiths or prohibiting conversions, mob violence against religious groups and harassment over religious attire.

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