Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Read our research on:
1. Nationalism, immigration and minorities
Most people say they would be willing to accept Jews, Muslims as neighbors
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- 1. Nationalism, immigration and minorities
- Western Europeans more likely to say they are ‘very proud’ of national identity than European identity
- Among Christians, pride in nationality more common than pride in religion
- Most people see respecting the country’s institutions and laws and speaking national language as important to national identity
- In many countries, people are split on whether their culture is superior to others
- In most countries, pluralities favor keeping immigration at its current level
- Western Europeans more likely to say that immigrants from Eastern Europe are hardworking
- Majorities in France, Germany, Switzerland and the UK view immigrants from various regions as honest
- Majorities say they know not too much, or nothing at all about Islam, Judaism
- Majorities in nearly every country say they personally know atheists and Muslims, but fewer know Jews
- Majorities say most of their close friends share their religious identity
- Higher acceptance of Jews than Muslims as members of family
- Most people say they would be willing to accept Jews, Muslims as neighbors
- Across Western Europe, no consensus on whether Islam is compatible with national culture and values
- Most favor at least some restrictions on the religious clothing of Muslim women
- Most Belgian and Dutch respondents see at least some support for extremism among Muslims within their borders
- Majorities say some violent people use religion to justify their actions
- One-in-ten or more in most countries say Islamic teachings promote violence
- At least one-in-five in all countries say Muslims want to impose religious law
- More than a third of Belgians feel alienated due to number of Muslims in Belgium
- Substantial minorities in some countries hold negative stereotypes about Jews
- One-in-four Danish, German, Irish and Swiss adults score higher than 5 on a 10-point scale of nationalism, anti-immigrant and anti-minority sentiment
- Christians, whether they go to church or not, are more likely than religious ‘nones’ to score higher than 5 on the 10-point NIM scale
- Nationalist, anti-Immigrant and anti-religious Minority (NIM) views in Western Europe
- Most Christians in Western Europe express pride in being Christian