Declining levels of religious freedom is in part down globalisation with the arrival of different faiths and cultures leading to growing fear and restrictions on minority groups, academics say.
Religious discrimination rose by 11.4 per cent between 1990 and 2002 and the number of countries who interfere with worship or regulate faith symbols, literature or broadcasting further increased from 2006 to 2009.
Two professors, writing for the London School of Economics European politics blog, argue rising multiculturalism and increased communications with other countries can explain this trend away from religious freedom.
'Perceived threat' is a significant factor behind groups turning inwards and demanding restrictions on minority groups, say Pazit Ben-Nun Bloom of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Gizem Arikan of Yasar University in Turkey.
They go on to warn that religious persecution will continue to rise as globalisation continues.
'Globalisation creates conditions that lead policymakers to restrict the religious activities of minority groups,' they write.
'We thus expect increasing levels of globalisation to be associated with greater legislation and restrictions curbing minority groups' religious freedom.'
Using data from a project measuring how much control governments exert over religious groups and how much discrimination and restriction is placed on minority faith groups, they say globalisation was a key factor in explaining the change.
'We contend that the thriving of alternative value systems and cultures in a globalised world induces perceived threats to a hegemonic religion, and its values, cohesiveness, positive distinctiveness, and resources,' they write.
'In turn, the fear of loss of identity and the sense of a disintegrating community lead to a retreat into the religious or cultural group of origin, accompanied by a tendency to become more protective of the group's values and more resistant to other value systems, such as other religions.'
