The U.S. may not have an official state religion or a preferred one, but four out of 10 countries worldwide do, according to a recent Pew Research report covering 199 nations and territories.
More than 80 nations favor a specific religion, whether that’s shown by government endorsement or preferential treatment. Only 13 of those officially favored Christianity, the report showed. Nine of those countries are in Europe (including the United Kingdom, Denmark, Monaco and Iceland), two are in the Americas (Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic), one is in sub-Saharan Africa (Zambia) and the other is in the Asia-Pacific region (Tuvalu).
In contrast, 27 nations enshrined Islam, making it the most commonly state-instituted religion.
But in the other 40 countries with governments that unofficially showed preference to a religion, in 28 cases that religion was Christianity.
Most countries are neutral, the Pew study showed — 100 nations including the U.S. showed no governmental preference toward a particular religion.
In 10 nations, such as China, North Korea and some former Soviet countries, governments are actively hostile toward all religions, restricting the legal status, finances and activities of religious groups.
But on the other end of the spectrum in countries that do claim an official religion, restrictions against nonofficial religions also can be extreme. (TAB)
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