More people want an increased role for religion, survey finds

According to findings by the US-based non-partisan Pew Research Center released on 22 April, more people globally favour an increased role for religion in their countries than oppose it, writes James Roberts.

The survey, “A Changing World: Global Views on Diversity, Gender Equality, Family Life and the Importance of Religion”, polled 27 countries, and 30,133 people, on attitudes to all these issues. It found that in Europe, roughly one third of adults (32 per cent) favour a more important role for religion, while a similar percentage (33 per cent) are opposed to the idea.

However, the public in other parts of the world are more sympathetic to a more important role for religion, including 51 per cent in the United States. A median of 44 per cent across the seven Asia-Pacific countries polled favour a greater role for religion in their nations.

This view is strong in Muslim-majority Indonesia (85 per cent), Catholic-majority Philippines (58 per cent) and Hindu-majority India (53 per cent). The exception in the region is Australia, which like Europe is divided on the role of religion (34 to 34 per cent).

Across the 27 countries surveyed, more people think religion plays a less important role than it did 20 years ago, but there is substantial regional variation on this question. North American and European publics are especially likely to see religion playing a diminished role in recent times. A majority in the US (58 per cent) and roughly half of Europeans (52 per cent) say religion plays a less important role in their country. More than half in Indonesia (83 per cent), the Philippines (58 per cent) and India (54 per cent) believe that religion has a bigger impact on their nation today.

Across the 27 countries, 58 per cent believe family ties have become weaker over the past 20 years – 64 per cent in the US and 59 per cent across 10 European countries. This view is also found in the Middle Eastern, sub-Saharan African and Latin American publics surveyed.