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Pew Research’s fourth major report on global restrictions on religion finds that the share of countries with high or very high restrictions on religion rose from 37% in 2010 to 40% in 2011. The Middle East and North Africa continued to have the highest levels of restrictions in the year when much of the Arab Spring uprisings occurred, with social hostilities involving religion increasing markedly and government restrictions remaining high.
As Iranians prepare to elect a new president on June 14, a Pew Research survey shows that just 40% think religious figures should play a large role in politics, while a quarter say religious figures should have some influence, and three-in-ten believe they should have little or no influence. But an overwhelming majority of Iranians say they back the use of Islamic law.
Some for-profit businesses are joining religiously affiliated nonprofits in challenging the Affordable Care Act’s contraception mandate, claiming it violates their religious liberty rights. A Pew Research Center analysis reviews the situation before a significant case is heard by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.
A new survey report looks at attitudes among Muslims in 39 countries on a wide range of topics, from science to sharia, polygamy to popular culture. The survey finds that overwhelming percentages of Muslims in many countries want Islamic law to be the official law of their land, but there is also widespread support for democracy and religious freedom.
Between 2010 and 2012, lawmakers in at least 32 states introduced bills to ban state courts from considering foreign or religious laws in their decisions.
On Monday, the Oklahoma Senate passed a bill intended to prevent the use of foreign law in state courts. The bill contains language from model legislation designed to limit the use of sharia, or Islamic law. A new interactive map details similar bills introduced or enacted in 32 states between 2010 and 2012.
Across the U.S., religious courts operate on a routine, everyday basis. How do some of the country’s major Christian traditions and other religions – including Islam, Judaism, Buddhism and Hinduism – decide internal matters and apply their religious laws?
Copyright 2024 Pew Research Center
