2. How important should religion be for a country’s leader?

When asked about the connection of their national leader with religion, people are generally more likely that it is very important to have a leader of their country who stands for people with their religious beliefs than have a leader whose religious beliefs are equal to theiror have a leader that has strong religious beliefs Even if they are not the same As theirs.

In Kenya, for example, 62% of adults say that it is very important to have a president who advocates for people with their religious beliefs. In the meantime, 55% of Kenyan says that it is very important for their president to share their religious beliefs. And 54% of Kenyac says it is very important to have a president who has strong religious beliefs, even if these beliefs are different from their own.

People in medium income countries are more likely to have high -income countries say that each of these things is very important in the national leader.

Views of these traits are related to how people are otherwise engaged in religion:

• Those who are associated with religion (like Christianity) are more consistently more likely than religiously inappropriate to say that each feature is very important for the leader of their country.
• People who pray every day are more likely than people who are less often prayed to view these traits as very important.
• Adults who think religion helps society are more likely than those who think that religion hurts society to say that these traits are related to religion very important in the national leader.

How important is it to have leaders who are committed to people’s religious beliefs?

A 30% median in 35 countries in which we asked this question think that the leader who advocates for people with their religious beliefs is very important. People in medium income countries are significantly more likely to say this than people in high -income countries.

For example, in Bangladesh and Indonesia, about seven adults say it is very important to have a prime minister or president, who advocates for people who share their beliefs. Large shares in several other countries of southern and Southeast Asia also say that this is very important, as well as about half of adults or more in the surveyed African countries.

However, in many high -income countries, it is less difficult to say that it is very important to have a leader who is advocating for people with their religious beliefs. Only 11% of adults in France and 5% in Japan says that this trait is very important with their president or prime minister.

And 51% of adults of Spanish people say it is not at all It is important to have a prime minister who advocates people with their religious beliefs.

Chile, Israel and now stand out among high -income countries. In all three adults with three tenths, he says that it is very important for their national leader to stand up for people with their religious beliefs.

Views with education

In many surveyed countries people who have a lower level of education are more Probably of those with a higher level of education to say that it is very important to have a leader who advocates for people with their religious beliefs. (This difference lasts after statistically controls religiosity.)

In Turkey, for example, 61% of adults with a lower level of education says it is very important to have a president who advocates for people with their religious beliefs. This share drops to 37% among Turkish adults who have a higher level of education.

How important is it to have leaders who share people’s religious beliefs?

We also asked people if it was important that their national leader had the same religious beliefs as they did. A median out of 35 countries of 22% say this is very important.

Adults in 17 medium -income countries (48% of medians) are generally more likely than adults in 18 high -income countries (10% of the media), and they say that the leader who divides his religious beliefs is very important. Most in six countries with medium income says this, including about three quarters of adults in Bangladesh and Indonesia.

Meanwhile, in every high -income country survey, about a quarter of the public or less occupies this position. For example, 12% of adults in the US -says it is very important to have a president who shares his religious beliefs.

And in eight high -income countries, half or more say that not at all It is important that their leader has the same religious beliefs they do. In Sweden, the stake that holds this position reaches 68%.

Europeans who support the right -wing populist parties are more likely that they are unable to say that he is a leader with the same religious beliefs as they are very important. (For more about populist parties, see AddIX.) In Germany, 17% of those who express a favorable opinion on the alternative to Germany (AFD) says this is a very important trait for their chancellor, while only 6% of Germans agree with the unfavorable AFD view.

As with other views in this chapter, adults with less education are more Probably of those with a higher level of education to say that it is very important that their leader has the same beliefs as they do.

Religion attitudes

Adults associated with religion are more consistently more likely than religiously inappropriate (those who identify themselves as an atheist, agnostic or “nothing special”) say that it is very important to have a national leader shared by their same religious beliefs.

This dynamics is easily visible in countries that have a considerable population and Christians and religiously unrelated people. For example, in Chile, Christians are approximately three times more likely that they are not related to the president with the same beliefs as they are very important (26% compared to 8%).

In several medium income countries, however, it is more likely that they are more likely to be religiously inappropriate adults than religiously related to high -income countries that this is a very important trait that their national leader may have.

For example, 33% of adult adults in southern Africa with medium income says it is very important to have a president who shares his religious beliefs. This outweighs the percentage of Christians who say this about national leaders in South Korea with high income (20%), Poland (16%) and France (8%).

Muslims in surveyed countries are usually among the most likely say that it is very important to have a leader who shares their religious beliefs. But in India, Hindus are more likely that Muslims will hold this view (63% by 53%).

How important is it to have leaders with strong religious beliefs?

We also asked the respondents how important it is for their country’s leader to generally have strong religious beliefs, even if beliefs are different from theirs.

In many countries, it does not say that such quality is more than a quarter of adults very important in the leader. This is the case in all high -income countries surveyed, as well as in Thailand, Turkey and several medium income countries in Latin America.

In Australia and France, for example, 7% say it is very important that their Prime Minister or President has strong religious beliefs, even if beliefs are different from theirs.

People in southern and southeast Asia and Africa tend to be considered more important to be considered as important. For example, 56% of Indonesians and 54% of Kenyans say it is very important to have a president with strong religious beliefs, even if the president’s beliefs are different from theirs.

Views with religiosity

In most of the surveyed countries, adults who pray at least daily are much more likely than those who are less often prayed to say that it is very important to have a national leader with strong religious beliefs.

In the UK, for example, 29% of adults who pray daily say that this trait in the premiere is very important, compared to 6% of Britons who are less frequently praying.

And 44% of adults Peruan, who are prayed daily, say that it is very important to have a president with strong religious beliefs, while 25% of the Peruvians who are less often prayed are kept this view.