India ranked highest in the 2022 Pew Research Center report on religion-related hostilities, with a score of 9.3 out of 10 on the Social Hostilities Index (SHI).
A higher SHI score reflects greater levels of religion-related harassment, violence, terrorism, and conflicts over religious issues. Scores above 7.2 are considered “very high.”
The report also assessed government restrictions on religion using the Government Restrictions Index (GRI), with India scoring 6.4 out of 10, classified as “high.”
India, along with several other countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, has consistently had high GRI and SHI scores, indicating persistent religious violence and governmental restrictions.
The report highlighted those countries with high or very high GRI and SHI scores in 2022 included India, Nigeria, Syria, Pakistan, Iraq, Egypt, Afghanistan, Israel, and Sri Lanka.
25 countries (12% of the total) had high or very high scores on both indices, reflecting widespread religious tensions and government-imposed restrictions.
In contrast, about 62% of countries, including Canada and South Korea, had low or moderate scores on both indices.
The study found a rise in countries with high GRI and SHI scores, indicating an increase in religion-related hostilities and governmental controls on religious practices.
The report noted that in many cases, government restrictions and social hostilities align closely, with lower scores on one index often reflecting lower scores on the other.
Countries like Brazil and the Philippines had high SHI scores despite lower GRI scores, highlighting the complexity of religion-related conflicts.
