WUNRN
Website of UN Study on the Status of
Women, Freedom of Religion or Belief, and Traditions - 6 Official UN
Translations: http://www.wunrn.com/un_study/un_study.htm
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COUNTRY RESTRICTIONS ON RELIGION -
CONSIDER FOR WOMEN - REPORT
Direct Link to Full 117-Page Report:
The Pew Forum on Religion &
Public Life
August 2011
RISING RESTRICTIONS ON RELIGION -
REPORT
1/3 of the World's Population
Experiences an Increase
_______________________________________________
Via Human Rights Without Frontiers
Restrictions
on Religion: One third of the
world's
population experiences an increase
Pew
Forum Executive Summary (12.08.2011) - Restrictions on religious beliefs
and practices rose between mid-2006 and mid-2009 in 23 of the world's 198
countries (12%), decreased in 12 countries (6%) and remained essentially
unchanged in 163 countries (82%), according to a new study by the Pew Research
Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life.
Because
several countries with increasing restrictions on religion are very populous,
however, the increases affected a much larger share of people than of states.
More than 2.2 billion people - nearly a third (32%) of the world's total
population of 6.9 billion - live in countries where either government
restrictions on religion or social hostilities involving religion rose
substantially over the three-year period studied. Only about 1% of the world's
population lives in countries where government restrictions or social
hostilities declined.
Among
the world's 25 most populous countries - which account for about 75% of the
world's total population - restrictions on religion substantially increased in
eight countries and did not substantially decrease in any.
In China, Nigeria, Russia, Thailand, the United Kingdom and Vietnam, the
increases were due primarily to rising levels of social hostilities involving
religion. In Egypt and France, the increases were mainly the result of
government restrictions. The rest of the 25 most populous countries, including
the United States, did not experience substantial changes in either social
hostilities or government imposed restrictions.
This is
the second time the Pew Forum has measured restrictions on religion around the
globe. Like the baseline report, the new study scores 198 countries and
territories on two indexes:
· The
Government Restrictions Index measures government laws, policies and actions
that restrict religious beliefs or practices. This includes efforts by
governments to ban particular faiths, prohibit conversions, limit preaching or
give preferential treatment to one or more religious groups.
· The
Social Hostilities Index measures acts of religious hostility by private
individuals, organizations and social groups. This includes mob or sectarian
violence, harassment over attire for religious reasons and
other religion-related intimidation or abuse.
Among
the five geographic regions covered in the study, the Middle East-North Africa
region had the largest proportion of countries in which government restrictions
on religion increased, with nearly a third of the region's
countries (30%) imposing greater restrictions. Egypt, in particular, ranked
very high (in the top 5% of all countries, as of mid-2009) on both
government restrictions and social hostilities involving religion. Egypt was
one of just two countries in the world - Indonesia was the other - that had
very high scores on both measures as of mid-2009.
Europe
had the largest proportion of countries in which social hostilities related to
religion were on the rise from mid-2006 to mid-2009. Indeed, five of the 10
countries in the world that had a substantial increase in social hostilities
were in Europe: Bulgaria, Denmark, Russia, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The
study also finds that social hostilities involving religion have been rising in
Asia, particularly in China, Thailand and Vietnam.
Overall,
14 countries had a substantial increase in government restrictions on religion,
while eight had a substantial decline. In terms of social hostilities involving
religion, 10 countries had a substantial increase, while five had a substantial
decline. No country rose or declined substantially in both categories over the
three-year period. Just one country, Kyrgyzstan, showed a
substantial increase in one category (government restrictions) along with a
decrease in the other category (social hostilities); consequently, it is
treated as having no overall change.
Countries
Where Government Restrictions Rose, Ranked by Total Population Countries with
substantial increase from mid-2006 to mid-2009
2010/ POPULATION IN MILLIONS
Egypt
84.5
France
62.6
Algeria
35.4
Uganda
33.8
Malaysia
27.9
Yemen
24.3
Syria
22.5
Somalia
9.4
Serbia
7.6
Tajikistan
7.1
Hong
Kong 7.1
Libya
6.5
Kyrgyzstan
5.6
Qatar
1.5
Countries
Where Government Restrictions Declined, Ranked by Total Population
Countries with substantial decrease from mid-2006 to mid-2009
2010/ POPULATION IN MILLIONS
Greece
11.2
Togo 6.8
Nicaragua
5.8
Republic
of Macedonia 2.0
Guinea
Bissau 1.6
Timor-Leste
1.2
Equatorial
Guinea 0.7
Nauru
<0.1
Source:
Total Population, U.N. estimates.
Circles
are sized proportionally to each country's population.
Pew
Research Center's
Forum
on Religion & Public Life
Rising
Restrictions on Religion, August 2011