State restrictions on freedom of worship are concentrated in the Middle East and North Africa, the origin of the Abrahamic faiths. In that region, 95% of governments engage in harassment and the use of force against religious groups, with Egypt’s policies the sternest of all. However, European countries, including some of the continent’s secular liberal democracies, can be intolerant as well.

Nearly 2,000 years ago today, according to the Bible, Jesus of Nazareth was crucified for “subverting” the people of Judea. Even after two millennia, humanity has still not managed to eliminate religious persecution. In fact, one index published on April 11th suggests that freedom of worship is actually declining.

Pew, a think-tank, evaluates obstacles to the observance of religion in two dimensions, based on the text of countries’ constitutions and on reports by governments and human-rights groups. It measures laws and policies that limit religious beliefs in a government-restrictions index, and violence and other intimidation from the public at large in a social-hostilities index. The overall level of restrictions on religion is surprisingly elevated: the study finds it “high” or “very high” in fully one-quarter of the 198 nations assessed. Moreover, the situation appears to be getting worse: both the government and social indicators show that religious freedom deteriorated in 2015—the latest year for which data are available—for the first time in three years.

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