Less religious and less likely to be following religious leaders: these are the findings of a survey conducted among youth in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) by the Arab Barometer, a pollster surveying the main social and economic trends in the region. The main findings were published by The Economist on 5 December 2019, showing that ‘across the…
Search results for: religion
Devotion at Sub-National Level: Evidence from Ramadan Lights in Egypt*
Religion informs political attitudes and hence is consequential for understanding political beliefs and preferences. This is especially true for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) where religion is a formidable social force, ranging from its influence on the Arab Spring, various civil wars, the failure of democratization, and responses to COVID-19. Islam, especially, factors prominently in social, political, and…
A New Secularism Is Appearing in Islam
Across much of the Islamic world, many Muslims are disillusioned with the ugly things done in the name of their religion. For decades, social scientists studying Islam discussed whether this second biggest religion of the world would go through the major transformation that the biggest one, Christianity, went through: secularization. Would Islam also lose its hegemony over public life, to…
Munich Security Conference 2020 Arab Disillusionment
After the Arab spring back in 2011, the political Islam was one of the loudest voices – today, more young people turn away from religion They came late, but finally benefited from the change: While mass demonstrations faded away one authoritarian regime after the other back in 2011, the preachers were missing on the streets, who wanted to sort the…
The Multidimensional Impact of Islamic Religiosity on Ethno-religious Social Tolerance in the Middle East and North Africa
“Ethno-religious tolerance is crucial for establishing sustainable democracy, which is scarce in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). This study provides an empirically grounded and nuanced critique of Orientalist studies simply pointing at Islam. It presents a systematic analysis of the impact of religious belonging, belief, and behavior on social tolerance in the MENA, based on 32 uniquely synchronized…
Les Tunisiens sont de moins en moins religieux, en particulier les plus jeunes
Selon la dernière étude d’Arab Baromètre le sentiment religieux recule dans tout le monde arabe. Réalisé auprès de 25 000 personnes dans dix pays du monde arabe, ce sondage montre que la part de la population se présentant comme non-religieuse dépasse même les 45% chez les 18-29 ans en Tunisie. Cela serait une conséquence de la Constitution de 2014. La…
Islam, Religious Outlooks, and Support for Democracy
Despite a wealth of studies examining Muslim religiosity and democracy, uncertainty regarding Islam and attitudes toward democracy remains. Although the claims concerning the incompatibility of Islam and democracy are generally discarded, public opinion scholarship has yet to build much further from this important first step or incorporate a strong theoretical framework for analysis beyond this basic foundation. This paper seeks…
Islam, Religious Outlooks, and Support for Democracy
Despite a wealth of studies examining Muslim religiosity and democracy, uncertainty regarding Islam and attitudes toward democracy remains. Although the claims concerning the incompatibility of Islam and democracy are generally discarded, public opinion scholarship has yet to build much further from this important first step or incorporate a strong theoretical framework for analysis beyond this basic foundation. This paper seeks…
Findings revealed from The Big BBC News Arabic Survey
BBC News Arabic has carried out the largest in-depth survey ever carried out in the region. The Big BBC News Arabic Survey 2018/19 was carried out by Arab Barometer and interviewed more than 25,000 people face-to-face in 10 countries and the Palestinian territories about a wide-range of subjects including religion, corruption, sex and mental health. The results give an unprecedented…
Survey Shows Faith in Decline in Morocco, in the Arab World
Rabat – While studies suggest Islam is the fastest growing religion on the planet, a recent survey released by the BBC Arabic showed religion has declined throughout the Arab world. Currently 18% identify as “not religious”, compared to 11% in 2013. The report, conducted for the BBC by the research group Arab Barometer, was the largest and most in-depth survey undertaken of the Middle…
Does socioeconomic development lead to greater gender equality?
The Arab region is frequently associated with a precarious situation in gender equality. Data from Arab Barometer’s public opinion survey suggest that there is far from universal agreement that women should have equal rights in all public and private spheres. One critical aspect of gender equality is the right to divorce, as divorce laws and their evolution mirrors the changing…
Writing the Next Chapters of Morocco and Algeria
Morocco is no stranger to protests, but its situation differs from that of Algeria. A recent article on the BBC using data from the Arab Barometer survey asked the question, “Could Morocco see the next uprising after Sudan and Algeria?” While it was selective in its choice of data points, for example, attitudes toward religion, the point of the article, which…
A revealing survey that rings alarm bells
What is happening across the board is that populations are losing much of their trust in political and religious elites. Analysts have been scratching their heads over the results of a recent opinion survey on social, political and religious attitudes in the Arab world conducted by Arab Barometer, a Princeton University-based research network, and released by BBC News Arabic. Much…
Arabs are losing faith in religious parties and leaders
“No to religion or sect,” cry the protesters in Iraq. “No to Islam, no to Christianity, revolt for the nation,” echo those in Lebanon. Across the Arab world people are turning against religious political parties and the clerics who helped bring them to power. Many appear to be giving up on Islam, too. These trends are reflected in new data from…
