Why is religious intolerance on the rise?

When receiving his Nobel Peace Prize, Martin Luther King Jr. said, "Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than love. It destroys community and makes brotherhood impossible. It leaves society in monologue rather than dialogue."

Fifty years after King spoke those words, the Pew Research Center found violence and prejudice by governments and groups of different faiths reached a six-year high in 2012.

Attacks based on religious bias took place in 1 in every 5 countries in 2012. Hostilities increased in every major region of the world except the Americas.

The survey found three-quarters of the world's population lives where overall levels of religious restrictions or hostilities were high or very high.

Europe saw the biggest increase in government restrictions on religion and a corresponding rise in hostilities. The survey pointed to one example, in March 2012, in which a rabbi and three Jewish schoolchildren were killed by an Islamist extremist in Toulouse, France.

A third of the nearly 200 countries surveyed saw a rise in social hostility against those of minority faiths or pressure to conform. That was especially found in the Middle East and North Africa, according to Pew.

Take a look at the news: Whether you're a Coptic Christian in Egypt, a Uyghur in China, a Buddhist in Sri Lanka or a Muslim in Myanmar, religious violence and intolerance is on the rise around the world.

Why are we seeing an increase in religious hostilities?

Which countries saw the greatest increase in hostilities and why?

Is there a correlation between governments that oppress minority religions and social hostilities?

We consulted a panel of experts to get the inside story.

The above panel was assembled for the broadcast of "Inside Story" to discuss.

For future hard-hitting conversations, find Al Jazeera America on your TV.