A recent Pew Research study on restrictions to religion due to the Covid pandemic showed that Christians faced harassment in over 155 countries in 2020, an increase from 110 in 2012.
The organization’s definition of “harassment” can include a wide range of actions, including verbal abuse to physical violence and killings committed by governments, social groups or individuals. The study captured “cases where individuals or groups feel singled out or unable to express their religious belief or nonbelief.”
The study rated 198 countries and territories by their levels of government restrictions on religion and social hostilities involving religion using the same 10-point indexes used in the previous studies.
Overall, physical harassment related to religion occurred in more than two-thirds of countries in 2020.
Muslims faced harassment in 145 countries, an increase from 109 in 2012. Jews, who make up 0.2% of the global population, face harassment in 94 countries, up from 71 in 2012.
The study found that Christian groups were “targeted by private individuals and organizations in nine countries” as Christians were often blamed for the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Pew findings come as Open Doors reported last year that over 360 million Christians experienced high levels of persecution and discrimination across the globe.