Global religion datasets reshape research

Pew’s call and associated release of the Global Religious Futures datasets (Global Restrictions 2007–2022, 2010/2020 religious composition, Spring 2024 survey) plus funding to reuse them will produce a wave of reproducible, quantitative studies on religion’s political effects, restrictions, and demographic change across ~200 countries. The combination of cumulative restriction indices, multi‑year composition estimates, and a recent cross‑national survey creates a uniquely combinable resource for robust causal and comparative work. — Availability and subsidized reuse of these datasets will change what empirical claims about religion and politics can be reliably tested and publicized, shifting debates from anecdote to verifiable cross‑national evidence.