Global views of religion’s impact on society

Large shares of adults in most of the 36 countries we survey say that religion helps society, not to harm it. Most also say that religion stimulates tolerance, not intolerance. But people are a little more divided over whether religion is stimulating superstition.

Religion is usually more positively seen:

• People in medium income countries, compared to those in high -income countries
• Religiously related people, compared to those who are not connected
• People who say they pray daily, compared to those who pray less

Does religion help society?

Views on the influence of religion on society are widely positive. A median of 36 countries of 77% says religion is generally helping society, while a median of 19% says it mostly hurts.

Views are especially positive in parts of Asia, the Middle East and Africa. For example, at least 90% of adults surveyed in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Tunisia say religion helps society.

Otherwise, people are slightly more divided. About six or more adults in some high-income countries, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Poland, Singapore, South Korea and USA-Religa consider a positive force. But in Australia, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom, about half or more say religion pain society.

Does religion stimulate tolerance?

People are also considered to be a religion wide as encouraging tolerance, not intolerance.

Adults in medium income countries have more positive attitudes of religion than adults in high -income countries. Almost all Tunižans (98%) and Indonesians (95%) say that religion encourages tolerance. Thus, most of the countries have explored in most countries in southern and southeast Asia, Latin America and Subsaharian Africa.

High -income nations are divided into whether religion stimulates tolerance or intolerance. Large shares in some high -income countries, including Singapore (79%), Hungarian (72%), Italy (70%) and Israel (70%), say religion promotes tolerance. At the same time, small majority in Sweden (62%), Germany (57%), the Netherlands (57%), the UK (57%) and Australia (56%) say religion promotes intolerance.

Does religion stimulate superstitious thinking?

Globally speaking, people are more divided when it comes to whether religion stimulates superstition. A median of 52% 36 percent says religion makes it not Encourage superstition, while 42% says it is.

Although people in medium -income countries are a relatively more positive influence of religion on superstition than those with high income, the gap is less pronounced than the other two questions about the influence of religion on society.

For example, three quarters of adults or more in medium income countries like Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Tunisia and Turkey says that religion does so not Encourage a self -thought thinking. But in other countries with mid-income countries, for Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Philippine-List on the influence of religion, they are more evenly divided.

Among the high -income countries, Hungary, Italy, Poland and Singapore stand out as the only places where most of the religion says not Encourage superstition. In other surveyed countries with high income, they say much smaller shares. And most of Australia, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the UK say religion to encourage superstition.

How are views of the influence of religion on society differentiate?

Generally, people who pray at least every day are a more positive effect of religion on society than those who are less often prayed. This is consistent in all three questions about religion and public life in this chapter.

Similarly, people who say that they belong to religion also tend to see religion more positively – again, to all three questions – from those who are religiously inappropriate (those who identify themselves as an atheist, agnostic or “nothing special”).

Views with religiosity

People who say they are praying are more likely to be more likely to say that religion will help society, stimulate tolerance and do not Encourage a self -thought thinking. In many cases, these differences are significant. For example, 85% of Australians who pray at least once a day to religion mainly helps society, compared to 37% of Australians who are less frequently prayed.

These differences are usually especially large in less religious countries with high income such as the Netherlands and France. The differences are generally less pronounced or not significant in highly religious countries of medium income such as Bangladesh and Malaysia.

Religion attitudes

Religiously associated with more positive for religion than inappropriate in all countries where this analysis is possible – and on all issues set on the impact of religion on society. For example, in Peru 82% of Christians it says that religion stimulates tolerance, compared to 53% of Peruvians who do not have religious affiliation.

Peru shows another pattern: in some countries with medium income, even unsuitable They express mostly positive views of religion.

In 36 surveyed countries, certain religious groups stand out. Muslims are mostly most likely saying that religion helps society, stimulates tolerance and does not encourage superstition. For example, almost all Muslims in Tunisia (99%) and Indonesia (95%) say that religion promotes tolerance.

But this is the case in the countries where Muslims are in the minority:

• Muslim Israelis are more likely that Jewish Israelites say that religion encourages tolerance and helps society.
• In the US, both Muslims (83%) and Christians (77%) strongly agree that religion encourages tolerance, compared to 52% of Jewish Americans and 32% religious inappropriate Americans.
• In India, most of Hindus and Muslims say religion stimulates tolerance.

Only in Sri Lanka is Muslims much less probably than other religious groups that raise religion to tolerance, although the vast majority of Srilan Muslims (75%) occupy this position.

Especially in sub-Saharan African, Latin American and Asian-Pacific countries, interviewed, The vast majority of Christians also say that religion helps society and encourages tolerance. For example, 96% of South Korean Christians say that religion is generally helping society.

In some European countries, however, Christians are less positive to the role of religion in society – even if they remain more positive than inappropriate people. In Sweden, only about one -third of Christians say that religion stimulates tolerance, and 54% of Swedish Christians say that religion promotes intolerance.

Buddhists throughout Southeast Asia are overwhelmingly say that religion helps society and encourages tolerance. This is especially the case in Sri Lanka, where at least nine-and-budgets agree with each statement. The smaller majority of Buddhists in South Korea and Japan says the same.

Hindus In Bangladesh, it is more likely to say that religion helps society (95%) and does not stimulate superstitious thinking (70%) but Indian Hindus (78%and 53%, respectively). However, the Indian Hindu majority is similar to the Hindu minority of Bangladesh to the belief that religion promotes tolerance (68% compared to 62%).

Views of age

Older people are more likely to reject the relationship between religion and superstition from younger people. This is valid in more than half of the surveyed countries, and the pattern is more common in Latin America and Europe than in other regions. But age differences are a bit muffled when it comes to whether religion helps society and increases tolerance.

Some of these age differences are also associated with differences in religiosity, such as younger adults less religiously watching In many countries.