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Global Religious Freedom Data Spectrum

The Global Religious Freedom Data Spectrum aims to provide a comparative framework for viewing a wide range of data from organizations’ country rankings on the issues of freedom of religion or belief. By placing the rankings of these diverse organizations in one central place, the Data Spectrum offers users the opportunity to identify a richer, ideologically broader look at each country in the world. The maps below show the data in a compelling way that can help people understand the opportunities and gaps in Global Religious Freedom data.
Unique Country Rankings Surveyed in the Project
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A project of 21Wilberforce and George Washington University Loeb Institute

Interactive Data Spectrum Map

On the map below you can view the country rankings of the 13 organizations included in this project. Users can see the overall rankings in the color-coded maps and drill down to view the individual rankings of each country on each of the layers. There is also an “All Data Spectrum Indicators Map” where all the country rankings of each organization are listed. 

Map Layer Instructions:

  • In the top left corner of the map, select the “toggle layer list” 
  • Click on the eye button to any specific organizational map you wish to view.
  • You can click on each country to see their ranking for that map layer. 
  • To view a new organization’s map, you must uncheck the previous layer and then select a new layer.

Data Tables

Methodology

OrganizationScaleMethodology
USCIRFCountry of Particular Concern, Special Watch Listhttps://www.uscirf.gov/sites/default/files/2021-04/2021%20Annual%20Report.pdf
Pew Government Restrictions IndexLow – Highhttps://www.pewforum.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2020/11/PF_20.10.28_Restrictions11_appendixA.pdf
Pew Social Hostilities IndexLow – Highhttps://www.pewforum.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2020/11/PF_20.10.28_Restrictions11_appendixB.pdf
Open Doors – Level of Christian PersecutionVery High, Extremehttps://www.opendoorsusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/WWL2021_Booklet-digital.pdf
Cato Human Freedom Index0 – 10, least to most freehttps://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/2020-12/human-freedom-index-2020.pdf
ADL Global 100 Survey0%-100% of adults expressing antisemitic attitudes to most survey questionshttps://global100.adl.org
Freedom House – Feedom of Expression & Belief0 – 4, least to most freehttps://freedomhouse.org/countries/freedom-world/scores
World Index of Moral Freedom0 – 100, least to most freehttps://fundalib.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/WIMF-2020.pdf
Varieties of Democracy Index0 – 4, low to high levels of religious freedomhttps://www.v-dem.net/en/analysis/MapGraph/
Freedom of Thought Index1 – 200, most to least freehttps://fot.humanists.international/ranking-index-2020/
Aid to the Church in Need – Religious Freedom ReportStable, Discrimination, Persecutionhttps://religious-freedom-report.org/fr/home-fr/
Religious Regulation Index0 to 3, low to high levels of religious regulationhttps://www.thearda.com/internationalData/
Religious Minority Discrimination0 to 3, low to high levels of religious minority discriminationhttps://www.thearda.com/internationalData/

Data Spectrum Report

Click on picture to view report

Global Religious Freedom Data Spectrum: 2021 Report 

“Freedom of religion, belief, and conscience (commonly abbreviated as FoRB) is a fundamental human right independent of ideology, faith system, political or personal identity.

Over the years, various organizations have collected, analyzed, and published statistical data and anecdotal information—related to the degrees of freedom and suppression of these freedoms in various countries—in data tables, geocoded map renderings, infographics, rankings, and other analytical formats.

Individual and organizational perspectives and interpretations of issues and events related to FoRB, however, are inherently seen through interpretative lenses limited by subjective biases and the quality and representational distribution of sources and data…”

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Project Partners

21Wilberforce

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Loeb Institute for Religious Freedom

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