From Rankings to Realities

When it comes to religious freedom measurement, we’ve come a long way. We have moved from a period marked by widespread disinterest in religion—shaped largely by secularization theory—to a growing recognition of religion’s role in international relations, and now to the development of increasingly sophisticated instruments for measuring the freedom of religion and belief (FoRB). These advancements have brought meaningful benefits: they help document the global state of religious freedom, describe and quantify violations, enable cross-national comparisons, and establish religious freedom firmly on the international agenda.