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In Indonesia, Muslim groups burn down a mosque belonging to the minority Ahmadiyya sect. In Singapore, the government refuses to recognize Jehovah’s Witnesses. In Belgium, 68 religion-based hate crimes are reported in 2007 alone.

People living in a third of all countries are restricted from practicing religion freely, either because of government policies and laws or hostile acts by individuals or groups, according to a study released on Wednesday by the Pew Research Center, “Global Restrictions on Religion.”

That amounts to 70 percent of the globe’s population, since some of the most restrictive countries are very populous.

Of the world’s 25 most populous countries, citizens in Iran, Egypt, Indonesia, Pakistan and India live with the most restrictions when both measures are taken into account, the study found.

“Where those two come together is where it’s most intense,” said Brian Grim, senior researcher at the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion and Public Life.

Masdar F. Mas’udi, the chairman of the Nahdlatul Ulama, expressed gratitude to all parties who provided their assessments on religious tolerance in Indonesia, although he said there could have been some subjectivity in the study.

“Such assessments can make us more aware to make improvements toward a better future,” he said. “Personally, I don’t want to deny or reject them. Let’s treat them as feedback.”

He added that the problem in Indonesia has never been simple because it involves acute social problems, including poverty and ignorance.

Masdar said that the government should be held accountable for all of these, as it is the key stakeholder in solving socio-economic problems.

The United States, Brazil, Japan, Italy, South Africa and the United Kingdom have the least amount of restrictions on religious practices when measured by both government infringement and religion-based violence or harassment, according to the study.

The study found that religious minorities suffer the brunt of the intolerance.

The Pew Center sought answers to 20 questions it created relating to government restrictions on religious practices, such as policies or laws, and on 13 questions on social restrictions, such as individual acts of violence.

The group then examined published public information sources, including reports by the U.S. State Department, the United Nations and various non-governmental organizations, to answer the questions on a county-by-country basis. Researchers analyzed information from July 1, 2006 to June 30, 2008.

The report found that the percentage of the world’s countries with high or very high government restrictions is at about 20 percent, which amounts to 57percent of the world’s population. These countries include Saudi Arabia, Iran and former communist countries, such as Russia, Belarus and Bulgaria, where state atheism has been replaced by favored religions that are accorded special protections or privileges.

Grim pointed out that many countries have language in their constitutions that ban infringements on religion. But the reality is that governments often place restrictions in practice.

For example, 90 percent of countries require religious groups to register for reasons including obtaining tax-exempt status or import privileges. But in almost three in five countries the requirements result in discrimination.



AP with additional reporting by the Jakarta Globe’s Anita Rachman