A World of Intolerance

A Pew Research Center study issued on Jan. 14 shows another increase in hostility toward religion by most of the world’s 198 nations. The share of countries with a high or very high level of social hostility involving religion reached a six-year peak in 2012, the study said. The number of nations showing hostility toward Christians rose from 106 to 110, according to the study. “Overall, across the six years of this study, religious groups were harassed in a total of 185 countries at one time or another,” the study said. “Members of the world’s two largest religious groups—Christians and Muslims, who together comprise more than half of the global population—were harassed in the largest number of countries, 151 and 135, respectively.” On a scale of hostile incidents involving religion, the Middle East-North Africa region had a score of 6.4 out of 10, more than twice that of the next-most-hostile region. The Americas had the lowest score, at 0.4. The United States received its third straight year of “moderate” for both government restrictions on religion and social hostility toward religion.