Muslims outside the United States overwhelmingly believe that politics, not religious tenets, are at the root of violence and civil unrest in their countries, and U.S. Catholics and Protestants agree, although by much narrower majorities, according to a new poll on global religious attitudes released Oct. 16.
The Zogby International/ University of Rochester poll found that nearly 100 percent of Muslims in Saudi Arabia, 90 percent of those in Israel and 65 percent in India — some of the countries most plagued with violence — believe their countries’ problems are caused by politics, not religion, said William Green, a religion professor at the University of Rochester.
However, Green said some questions about specific political leaders and their effects on religious beliefs were excluded from the study.
The poll reflected attitudes held by members of 11 religions in seven countries and was the first-ever comprehensive study done of worldwide religious beliefs, the study’s commissioners said. The survey was conducted in January through March and involved 795 respondents in the United States, 593 in Israel and 600 each in India, Peru, Russia, Saudi Arabia and South Korea.
Indian Hindus and South Korean Buddhists disagreed by more than 50 percent with the idea that religion was the source of trouble and unrest in their countries, while Israeli Jews were evenly split.
American Catholics, by 63 percentage points, also disagreed that religion was the source of violence and unrest. U.S. Protestants disagreed, but by smaller majorities.
However, Green said religious devotion was rated relatively high in all groups — “virtually second” in a list that included doing charitable work, traveling internationally and learning a valuable skill.
The groups polled were: South Korean Christian, American and Peruvian Catholic, American Protestant (mainline and “born again”), Russian Orthodox, Indian Muslim, Israeli Muslim, Saudi Arabian Muslim, Indian Hindu, Israeli Jew and South Korean Buddhist. The groups were chosen for their convenience — accessibility of interviewees, proximity to urban areas, for example — but sampling was random. The margin of error in the poll is 4 percent, except 3.6 percent for U.S. respondents. (RNS)
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