Ani Sarkissian is a Michigan State University prof who, among other things, researches religion and politics. She recently published a book with Oxford University Press about why governments restrict religion. This could be a good read for anyone in a ‘creative access’ region who wants to better understand their context. This prof assembled a dataset of over 100 countries but also 16 case studies. It’s garnering some great reviews.

https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-varieties-of-religious-repression-9780199348084?cc=us&lang=en&#

If you’ve ever wondered exactly why governments take this path (of taking away your freedom and opportunity to know about a particular religion), maybe this book will finally provide answers.