New Delhi: People in middle-income countries are more likely to identify as ‘religious nationalists’ than those in high-income countries, but ‘religious nationalists’ do not make up a majority of the population in any of the countries surveyed, according to a new Pew Research Center report.
The study conducted by the Washington D.C.-based think tank, titled Comparing Levels of Religious Nationalism Around the World, surveyed nearly 55,000 people in three dozen countries across the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, North Africa region, North America and sub-Saharan Africa from January to May 2024.
It explores how people view the role of religion in national identity and policymaking. The survey covered various predominant religions, including Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism.
The study classifies respondents as “religious nationalists” if they strongly identify with the country’s predominant religion and take a firm stance on four key questions:
1) “How important is belonging to the predominant religion for national identity?” (e.g., is being Hindu essential to being Indian?)
2) “How important is it for national leaders to share their religious beliefs?”
3) “To what extent should the sacred texts or teachings of the dominant religion influence national laws?”
4) “If the sacred text conflicts with public opinion, which should take precedence in lawmaking?”
It found that a majority in middle-income countries, such as India, believe that religion does more good than harm for society, encourages tolerance, and does not promote superstitious thinking. For example, in Bangladesh, where nearly nine in ten adults are Muslim, 94 percent of respondents say religion “mostly helps society”.
In contrast, in Sweden—a country where less than half the population is religious—only 42 percent share this sentiment.
In India, 24 percent of those surveyed identify as ‘religious nationalists’ and 57 percent of Hindu respondents support the idea of religious teachings shaping Indian law, compared to just 26 percent of Indian Muslims. Further, 27 percent Indian respondents who say they pray at least once a day are ‘religious nationalists’, compared with 17 percent of those who pray less frequently.
A total of 79 percent of Indians believe that religion helps society while 68 percent agree that it encourages tolerance, and 53 percent are convinced that religion does not promote superstition.
In Bangladesh, 94 percent believe in the positive aspects of religion and 75 percent agree it encourages tolerance. In Indonesia, 100 percent of the respondents believe that religion helps society and 95 percent agree it encourages tolerance.
By contrast, in high-income nations, such as Australia, Canada, Germany, and the UK, a majority of respondents are in firm opposition to such influence.
Overall, the survey revealed that the majority of people across the 36 countries viewed religion positively, with 77 percent agreeing that religion mostly helps society. However, the impact of religion was viewed more favorably in middle-income countries (87 percent) than in wealthier nations (56 percent).
The study also revealed that individuals with lower levels of education and income were more likely to identify as ‘religious nationalists’. Additionally, those on the ideological right were more inclined to hold ‘religious nationalists’ views compared to those on the left or in the centre.
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Influence of religion on national laws & national leader
A total of 70 percent of Indians agreed that a leader standing up for people’s religious beliefs is seen as more important than a leader sharing their own religious beliefs. Moreover, 63 percent Hindus say it is very important to have a national leader who has religious beliefs that are the same as their own, while 53 percent OF Muslims agree.
Bangladesh ranked highest with 75 percent respondents saying that the leader should have the same religious beliefs as theirs.
The report says that people in middle-income countries tend to be more likely than people in high-income countries to say each of these things is very important in a national leader.
The survey also examined attitudes toward religious texts influencing national laws. A majority in most middle-income countries believe that a religious text should have some influence on the laws of their country.
One of the most significant findings of the report is the clear divide between middle-income and high-income countries regarding the influence of religious texts on national laws. In India and Bangladesh, the majority of respondents believe that religious texts—Hindu teachings in India and the Quran in Bangladesh—should guide the nation’s legal framework.
In Bangladesh, for example, 77 percent of Muslims say that the Quran should influence the country’s laws, while in India, the figure stands at 57 percent among Hindus who support a role for Hindu scriptures in legislation while only 26 percent Muslims support the integration of religious scripture into the country’s legal framework.
37 percent of Indians think religious texts should influence national laws while 41 percent say that the will of the people should take precedence in case of a conflict.
This trend is a stark contrast to high-income nations like the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Canada, where respondents largely oppose the idea of religious texts shaping national law. In countries such as France and the UK, the overwhelming majority of people believe in the separation of religion and state, a perspective rooted in centuries of secular tradition. The divide between middle and high-income nations reflects broader differences in how religion is viewed in the public sphere.
Religion and national belonging
A total of 64 percent of Indians think religion is important to national identity, especially Hinduism, and 73 percent of Hindus say that being a Hindu is very important to truly being an Indian. In contrast, only 12 percent of Muslims agree that religion plays a role in national identity.
In many middle-income countries, large majorities—including around three-quarters or more in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Tunisia—view belonging to the country’s historically predominant religion as a crucial part of national identity. In fact, in every middle-income country surveyed, at least a quarter of respondents felt this way.
In contrast, in high-income countries, fewer people consider religion a key aspect of national identity. Israel is an exception, where at least a third of the population views following the dominant religion, Judaism, as an important element of national identity.
Interestingly, in many middle-income countries, the religiously unaffiliated are more likely than the religiously affiliated in high-income countries to believe that religious texts, like the Bible, should have a significant influence on national laws. For example, in Colombia, 62 percent of Christians and 41 percent of the unaffiliated share this view. In contrast, in Spain, only 16 percent of Christians and just 3 percent of the unaffiliated feel the same way.
In the US, 31 percent of Christians believe the Bible should have a major impact on American laws, compared to 17 percent of Muslims, 8 percent of Jews, and 6 percent of the religiously unaffiliated.
(Edited by Sanya Mathur)
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