Religious groups face increased hostility worldwide - report

Pakistani Christians take part in a candle-lit Christmas service at the Cathedral Church in Lahore December 22, 2013. REUTERS/Mohsin Raza

(Reuters) - Violence and discrimination against religious groups by governments and rival faiths have reached new highs in all regions of the world except the Americas, according to a new Pew Research Centre report.

Social hostility such as attacks on minority faiths or pressure to conform to certain norms was strong in one-third of the 198 countries and territories surveyed in 2012, especially in the Middle East and North Africa, it said on Tuesday.