2011-08-08-皮尤-Rising_Restrictions_on_Religion_-_One-third_of_the_world_s_population_experiences_an_increase_117页_7mb

Summary of "Rising Restrictions on Religion" (August 2011)

The report analyzes global restrictions on religion and religious hostilities between mid-2006 and mid-2009. Two indexes were used: the Government Restrictions Index (GRI) and the Social. Hostilities Index (SHI), based on 20 and 13 questions, respectively. Changes over time were assessed using overlapping periods to account for fluctuations.

Key Findings:

1. Overall Trend: 2.2 billion people (about 33% of the global population) lived in countries where both government restrictions and social hostilities increased. Restrictive countries became more so, while less restrictive countries saw no significant decline.
2. Geographic Patterns:
   • The Middle East-North Africa region had the highest restrictions (e.g., Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia).
   • Asia-Pacific showed mixed results, with increases in China, Thailand, and Malaysia.
   • Europe had the fewest restrictive countries but notable increases in some nations (e.g., France, Sweden, Serbia).
   • Sub-Saharan Africa saw declines in hostilities in some countries (e.g., Chad, Tanzania).
3. Changes:
   • Government Restrictions: Increased in countries like Egypt, China, and France; decreased in Greece and Kyrgyzstan (partially reverting classifications).
   • Social Hostilities: Increased in Europe (e.g., Russia) and Asia (e.g., Thailand); decreased in Chad and Kyrgyzstan.
4. Laws Against Blasphemy/Discrimination: 59% of countries with such laws had high restrictions. Penalties were enforced, leading to harassment or violence.
5. Religious Harassment: Christians and Muslims were targeted most widely, with additional widespread harassment against Jews and other minority groups.

Methodology:

• Used 18 sources (U.S. State Department, UN, NGOs), coded by trained researchers, and compared changes reliably.
• Substantial changes were defined as ≥1.5 standard deviations from mean change over two-year periods, with consistency across rolling data.

The report concludes that global restrictions on religion are polarizing, with fewer countries moderating restrictions and more becoming stricter. It emphasizes data limitations for certain regions (e.g., North Korea) and the influence of religion-related conflicts.