scholarly journals RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION IN CHRISTIAN-MAJORITY DEMOCRACIES FROM 1990 TO 2014

2019 ◽  
pp. 285-308
Author(s):  
Jonathan Fox
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Religious Discrimination ◽  
The West ◽  
Liberal Democracies ◽  
Religious Minorities ◽  
Empirical Tests ◽  
Religion And State ◽  
Levels Of Support ◽  
Western Democracies

This study examines patterns in societal and government-based religious discrimination (SRD and GRD) against 307 religious minorities in 67 Christian-majority democracies using the Religion and State-Minorities round 3 (RASM3) dataset. Despite expectations that all forms of religious discrimination, especially GRD, should be lower in Western liberal democracies, it is, in fact, lower in developing countries. I argue that three factors explain this discrepancy. Economically developed countries have more resources available for discrimination. Western democracies have higher levels of support for religion than Christian-majority developing countries and countries which more strongly support religion are more likely to discriminate against religious minorities. Finally levels of SRD are higher in the West and SRD is posited to be a cause of GRD. Empirical tests support these propositions.

How Secular Are Western Governments’ Religion Policies?

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Fox
Keyword(s):  
Financial Support ◽  
Religious Practices ◽  
Religious Institutions ◽  
The West ◽  
Religious Minorities ◽  
Religion And State ◽  
Western Democracies

Abstract This study examines government religion policy in 26 Western democracies between 1990 and 2014 using the Religion and State round 3 (RAS3) dataset to determine whether these policies can be considered secular. While many assume that the West and its governments are secular and becoming more secular, the results contradict this assumption. All Western governments support religion in some manner, including financial support. All but Canada restrict the religious practices and/or religious institutions of religious minorities. All but Andorra and Italy restrict or regulate the majority religion. In addition religious both governmental and societal discrimination against religious minorities increased significantly between 1990 and 2014. All of this indicates religion remains a prominent factor in politics and society in the West.

scholarly journals What is religious freedom and who has it?

2021 ◽  
pp. 003776862110123
Author(s):  
Jonathan Fox
Keyword(s):  
Liberal Democracy ◽  
Religious Freedom ◽  
Central Element ◽  
Economic Prosperity ◽  
Liberal Democracies ◽  
Religious Minorities ◽  
Religion And State

Religious freedom (RF) is important because it is posited to be a central element of liberal democracy and as having multiple additional benefits including increased security and economic prosperity. Yet, it is also a disputed concept and many liberal democracies restrict the freedoms of religious minorities. This study uses the Religion and State (RAS) dataset to examine the extent of RF in 183 countries based on six definitions of RF. The author examines whether religious minorities are restricted in a manner that the majority is not, regulation of the majority religion, and imposition of precepts of the majority religion on a country’s population. He finds that very few countries, including liberal democracies, meet any standard for RF, even when one allows for ‘loose’ standards where some violations of RF are allowed.

Explaining Discrimination against Religious Minorities

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 389-416 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger Finke ◽  
Robert R. Martin ◽  
Jonathan Fox
Keyword(s):  
Recent Work ◽  
The State ◽  
Religious Discrimination ◽  
Religious Minorities ◽  
Minority Religions ◽  
State Discrimination ◽  
Independent Judiciary ◽  
Law And Politics ◽  
Religion And State ◽  
Religious Economy

AbstractResearch has documented that religious minorities often face the brunt of religious discrimination. Yet formal tests, using global collections, have been lacking. Building on the religious economy theory and recent work in law and politics, we propose that minority religions face discrimination from the state because they represent unwanted competition for the state supported religion, are viewed as a threat to the state and larger culture, and lack support from an independent judiciary. Drawing on the recently collected Religion and State-Minorities collection on more than 500 minority religions, we find support for each of the propositions, though the level of support varies based on the targets of state discrimination. In general, the support is strongest when explaining discrimination against minority religion's institutions and clergy, but weakens when explaining more general discrimination against the membership.

Separation of Religion and State in Stable Christian Democracies: Fact or Myth?

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Fox
Keyword(s):  
Liberal Democracy ◽  
Religious Practices ◽  
Necessary Condition ◽  
Liberal Democracies ◽  
Religious Minorities ◽  
Political Concern ◽  
Religion And State ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Role Of Religion

This study compares separation of religion and state (SRAS) as it is conceived in theory with its realization in practice in 40 stable Christian democracies between 1990 and 2008 based on data from the Religion and State Round 2 dataset. There is no agreement in the literature on how SRAS ought to be conceived. Many scholars argue that SRAS is a necessary condition for liberal democracies. The present study examines four models of SRAS found in the literature, and a non-SRAS model that addresses the appropriate role of religion in democracies: secularism-laicism, absolute SRAS, neutral political concern, exclusion of ideals, and acceptable support for religion. The study analyzes three factors: (a) whether the state supports one or some religions more than others; (b) the extent of religious legislation; and (c) restrictions on the religious practices and institutions of religious minorities. The analysis shows that depending on the definition of SRAS used, between zero and eight of the 40 countries practice SRAS. Based on this finding, I conclude that either SRAS is not a necessary condition for liberal democracy or many states commonly considered to be liberal democracies are not.

scholarly journals The Causes of Societal Discrimination against Religious Minorities in Christian-Majority Countries

Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 611
Author(s):  
Jonathan Fox ◽  
Roger Finke ◽  
Dane R. Mataic
Keyword(s):  
Religious Tradition ◽  
Religious Activity ◽  
Complex Relationship ◽  
Religious Discrimination ◽  
Religious Minorities ◽  
Abrahamic Religions ◽  
State Actors ◽  
Religion And State ◽  
The Impact

Using the Religion and State-Minorities and WVS datasets, this study examined the impact of religiosity in Christian-majority countries on societal religious discrimination (i.e., discrimination by non-state actors) against religious minorities. We found that increased levels of religious activity and commitment in a country lead to less discrimination against Muslim and Jewish religious minorities but more discrimination against Christian minorities. We offered two explanations for this complex relationship. First, when Christian-majority nations hold high levels of religiosity, other Abrahamic religions are potential allies in the fight against secularism. Second, in religiously active Christian-majority nations, the majority religion views Christian minorities (rather than Jews and Muslims) as an unwanted competitive threat because denomination switching is more common within the same religious tradition.

Global Quality Management Practice for E-Commerce

2010 ◽  
pp. 65-77
Author(s):  
Mahmud Akhter Shareef ◽  
Yogesh K. Dwivedi ◽  
Michael D. Williams ◽  
Nitish Singh
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Quality Improvement ◽  
Quality Management ◽  
Driving Force ◽  
Management Practice ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
The West ◽  
Global Quality ◽  
Internet Market ◽  
Shed Light

Since Internet is the primary driving force of E-Commerce (EC), it has global phenomena. Consequently, Internet market is diffusing from the west to the east. Nevertheless, cultural, political, economical, technological, social, and overall attitudinal diversity create irresistible barriers for free movement of EC. In this aspect, quality standardization for EC is utmost important. Because quality experts believe that only quality improvement and standardization can provide EC acceptance by global consumers. Expansion of EC from developed countries to developing countries creates an opportunity to redefine the paradigms of quality management practice (QMP) appropriate for global diffusion of EC. This chapter illustrates some related concepts of quality, quality improvement, and different aspects of quality for EC to shed light on QMP.

The Religion and State-Minorities dataset

2011 ◽  
Vol 48 (6) ◽  
pp. 807-816 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasemin Akbaba ◽  
Jonathan Fox
Keyword(s):  
Religious Identity ◽  
Similar Data ◽  
Religious Institutions ◽  
Religious Discrimination ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Religious Minorities ◽  
Methodological Problems ◽  
Religion And State ◽  
Data Collections ◽  
The Relationship

This article presents the Religion and State-Minorities (RASM) dataset addressing its design, collection, and utility. RASM codes religious discrimination by governments against all 566 minorities in 175 countries which make a minimum population cutoff. It includes 24 specific types of religious discrimination coded yearly from 1990 to 2002. Religious discrimination measures the absence of the human right of religious freedom which includes limits on religious practices such as worship as well as limits on religious institutions such as churches and mosques which are not placed on the majority group. Thus the dataset focuses on the restriction of religious group rights. Most similar datasets, including those that focus on human rights in general, include a single discrimination score for a country. RASM is the first to contain an accounting of religious discrimination against all relevant religious minorities on an individual basis while avoiding some methodological problems of previous similar data collections. In order to demonstrate the utility of the dataset, we examine the relationship between religious identity and religious discrimination. We find that both majority and minority identities matter in predicting the treatment of religious minorities. This demonstration that codings for individual minorities add to our understanding of the correlates of religious discrimination is illustrative of the potential uses of this dataset. It also indicates that this type of data can be useful in other types of studies where dyads based on religious identity are relevant, such as studies of ethnic conflict and civil war.

scholarly journals Gender Imbalance and Terrorism in Developing Countries

2016 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 483-510 ◽  
Author(s):  
Javed Younas ◽  
Todd Sandler
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Female Gender ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Male Dominance ◽  
Domestic Terrorism ◽  
Gender Imbalance ◽  
Transnational Terrorism ◽  
Empirical Tests ◽  
Bureaucratic Institutions ◽  
Economic Considerations

This article investigates whether gender imbalance may be conducive to domestic terrorism in developing countries. A female-dominated society may not provide sufficient administration, law, or order to limit domestic terrorism, especially since societies in developing countries primarily turn to males for administration, policing, and paramilitary forces. Other economic considerations support female imbalance resulting in grievance-generated terrorism. Because male dominance may also be linked to terrorism, empirical tests are ultimately needed to support our prediction. Based on panel data for 128 developing countries for 1975 to 2011, we find that female gender imbalance results in more total and domestic terrorist attacks. This female gender imbalance does not affect transnational terrorism in developing countries or domestic and transnational terrorism in developed countries. Further tests show that gender imbalance affects terrorism only when bureaucratic institutions are weak. Many robustness tests support our results.

scholarly journals Cyberbullying and cyber-mobbing

2020 ◽  
Vol 53 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 140-156
Author(s):  
Alexander Vasyaev ◽  
Viktor Shestak
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Statistical Data ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Legal Practice ◽  
The West ◽  
Social Phenomena ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
The Social ◽  
Former Ussr

The article subject is cyberbullying and cybermobbing. The emphasis is placed on the legal practice of combating cyberbullying and cybermobbing issues in developing countries, since these phenomena are still insufficiently studied. The developing countries legislation is compared with doctrinal and practical developments in the fight against the studied problem in developed countries of the West and former USSR. Experiment was conducted to determine the methods effectiveness to combat cyberbullying using the social networks built-in extensions. 40 random accounts were taken in equal parts related to "male" and "female" representatives, from 18 to 30 years old. The article indicates cyber-mobbing and cyberbullying concepts and their varieties, existing in modern world. The study examines statistical data, programs and measures of different states in fight against cyberbullying and cyber-mobbing. Experiments results showed that Instagram users are aware of the built-in extensions availability of the social network to protect against cyberbullying and use them relatively frequently. With that, female segment of Instagram users is more concerned about comments content under their photos than the male one. Measures have been developed to prevent and counteract cyberbullying and cybermobbing, introduction of which into the states policies might help in the fight against these social phenomena.

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