WASHINGTON — A new Pew Research Center report finds that social hostilities involving religion increased for the third consecutive year in 2023, while government restrictions on religion remained near record highs worldwide.
The study, released Monday, examined conditions in 198 countries and territories using two measures: the Government Restrictions Index (GRI), which tracks laws, policies, and official actions that restrict religious freedom, and the Social Hostilities Index (SHI), which measures religion-related harassment and violence carried out by private individuals, groups, and organizations.
According to the report, 55 countries experienced high or very high levels of social hostilities involving religion in 2023, up from 45 countries the previous year. Researchers cited growing harassment of religious minorities and the global repercussions of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza as major factors behind the increase. Although the figure remains below the record high of 65 countries recorded in 2012 following the Arab Spring, it represents the highest level of social hostility involving religion in more than a decade.
Pew Research Center, June 2026, “More Countries Had Elevated Levels of Social Hostilities Involving Religion in 2023” doi: 10.58094/CV0D-0488
Government restrictions remained widespread. Fifty-eight countries recorded high or very high levels of government restrictions on religion in 2023, only slightly below the record 59 countries reported in 2022. Countries with very high levels of government restrictions included China, Iran, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Syria, and Uzbekistan, while countries with very high levels of social hostilities included Nigeria, India, Israel, Syria, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.
Pew also found that approximately 78% of the world’s population lives in countries with high or very high levels of either government restrictions, social hostilities, or both. The figure reflects the fact that several of the world’s most populous countries, including China, India, and Pakistan, fall into one or both categories. Researchers noted, however, that restrictions and hostilities often fall disproportionately on religious minorities rather than affecting all residents equally.
The report identified 12 countries that moved from moderate to high levels of social hostilities during 2023: Belgium, Norway, Russia, Spain, Sweden, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, Guatemala, and Sudan. Two countries, Ethiopia and the Philippines, moved from the high category back to moderate levels.
Graph showing the increase in the number of countries where governments have harassed religious groups or interfered in worship doi: 10.58094/CV0D-0488
Several of the countries that experienced increases were affected by tensions linked to the Israel-Gaza conflict. In Spain, incidents targeting Jehovah’s Witnesses, rising anti-Muslim discrimination, and an increase in antisemitic acts contributed to the country’s higher score. Norway saw harassment directed at Jehovah’s Witnesses, Jews, and Muslims, while Russia experienced incidents including an antisemitic mob protest at an airport in Dagestan following the outbreak of war in Gaza.
Elsewhere, local conflicts and long-standing social tensions contributed to rising hostility levels. Thailand experienced increased violence connected to a Muslim separatist insurgency in its southern provinces. Sudan’s ongoing civil war led to damage to churches, mosques, and other religious sites. In Tanzania, attacks on people accused of practicing witchcraft contributed to the country’s movement into the high-hostility category.
A separate Pew analysis released alongside the report found that harassment of religious groups occurred in 192 of the 198 countries and territories studied, matching the highest level recorded since Pew began tracking the issue. Governments harassed religious groups in 185 countries, while private individuals, organizations, and social groups did so in 175 countries.
The study documented a wide range of religion-related harms, including property damage, physical assaults, detentions, displacement, and killings. Property damage was the most frequently reported form of harassment, occurring in 120 countries. Physical assaults were reported in 96 countries, detentions in 89 countries, displacement in 58 countries, and religion-related killings in 48 countries.
Christians and Muslims were the religious groups most frequently reported as facing harassment. Christians experienced some form of harassment in 165 countries, while Muslims were harassed in 143 countries. Jews, who comprise less than one percent of the world’s population, were harassed in 98 countries, an increase from 90 countries the previous year. Researchers linked part of that increase to antisemitic incidents that followed the October 2023 Hamas attack and Israel’s military response in Gaza.
The report also highlighted the role governments continue to play in restricting religious expression. Government harassment of religious groups was documented in 185 countries, while interference in worship—including restrictions on religious gatherings, permits for houses of worship, burial practices, and conscientious objection to military service—reached a record high, occurring in 175 countries.
The report does not explain how incidents involving accusations of witchcraft are incorporated into its broader category of “folk religions,” nor does it clarify how contemporary Pagan, Wiccan, or other nature-centered spiritual traditions are represented in its methodology. While Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, and the religiously unaffiliated are discussed throughout the study, Paganism, Wicca, Nature Spirituality, Animist traditions, and related religious movements are not specifically identified. The same is true for several smaller but globally significant religious communities, including Yazidis, Baháʼís, and practitioners of the Yoruba religion. As a result, it remains unclear whether these communities are separately identified or incorporated into broader religious categories.
As the methodology section notes, the report relies heavily on reporting from the U.S. State Department and international nongovernmental organizations. Because these sources often employ broad, pre-defined religious classifications, smaller religious traditions may receive less individualized treatment than major world religions. As a result, the experiences of nature-centered, Indigenous, folk, and other minority religious communities can be obscured within large comparative datasets, making it more difficult to determine how particular faith communities are affected by religious restrictions and hostilities.
The omissions highlight a recurring challenge in global religious-freedom research. Smaller religious communities are often grouped into broad categories that can obscure their distinct experiences. While such classifications can facilitate global comparisons, they can also make it more difficult to understand how specific minority religious communities experience religious restrictions and social hostilities.
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