Religious Freedom Faces Restriction Worldwide

Government restrictions on religion and hostility involving the same were noted to be the highest in the Middle East and North Africa, particularly in Egypt, but the study was based on information gathered before the "Arab Spring" uprisings erupted across North Africa and the Middle East, reports Emily Alpert in LA Times.

As per the study, other countries where religious intolerance and restrictions were prominently high were Indonesia, Russia, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Iran, Vietnam, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Nigeria. It was noted that China heavily restricts religion, but tension over it is relatively low and North Korea was known as being extremely repressive.

As per the report, harassment of Christians, Jews, Buddhists and several other groups, including Sikhs, Bahais and folk religions, spread to the highest number of countries measured since Pew first began tracking the phenomenon three years earlier; intimidation of Muslims also increased.

The U.S. was picked as one of the countries with the lowest level of religious restrictions and hostility. Japan, Brazil, Italy and the Democratic Republic of the Congo were also noted for having low levels of hostility and government restrictions on religion.

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