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 A recent global survey suggests that Muslims are more religious than Christians and Hindus.
December 3rd, 2011
10:00 PM ET
Conflict, theology and history make Muslims more religious than others, experts sayBy Richard Allen Greene, CNN (CNN) - Every religion has its true believers and its doubters, its pious and its pragmatists, but new evidence suggests that Muslims tend to be more committed to their faith than other believers. Muslims are much more likely than Christians and Hindus to say that their own faith is the only true path to paradise, according to a recent global survey, and they are more inclined to say their religion is an important part of their daily lives. Muslims also have a much greater tendency to say their religion motivates them to do good works, said the survey, released over the summer by Ipsos-Mori, a British research company that polls around the world.
Islam is the world's second-largest religion - behind Christianity and ahead of Hinduism, the third largest. With some 1.5 billion followers and rising, Islam's influence may be growing even faster than its numbers as the Arab Spring topples long-reigning secular rulers and opens the way to religiously inspired political parties. The case against TLC’s “All-American Muslim” But while there's no doubt about the importance of Islam, experts have different theories about why Muslims appear to be more religious than members of other global faiths - and contrasting views on whether to fear the depth of Muslims' commitment to their faith. One explanation lies in current affairs, says Azyumardi Azra, an expert on Islam in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim majority country. Many Muslims increasingly define themselves in contrast with what they see as the Christian West, says Azra, the director of the graduate school at the State Islamic University in Jakarta. "When they confront the West that they perceive or misperceive as morally in decline, many Muslims feel that Islam is the best way of life. Islam for them is the only salvation," he says. The case for TLC’s “All-American Muslim” That feeling has become stronger since the September 11 attacks, as many Muslims believe there is a "growing conflict between Islam and the so-called West," he says. "Unfortunately this growing attachment to Islam among Muslims in general has been used and abused by literal-minded Muslims and the jihadists for their own purposes," he says. But other experts say that deep religious commitment doesn't necessarily lead to violence. "Being more religious doesn't necessarily mean that they will become suicide bombers," says Ed Husain, a former radical Islamist who is now a Middle East expert at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. In fact, Husain argues that religious upbringing "could be an antidote" to radicalism. American Muslim women who cover explain their choice The people most likely to become Islamist radicals, he says, are those who were raised without a religious education and came to Islam later, as "born-agains." Muslims raised with a grounding in their religion are better able to resist the distortions of Islam peddled by recruiters to radical causes, some experts like Husain argue, making them less likely to turn to violence. But he agrees that Muslims are strongly attached to their faith, and says the reason lies in the religion itself. "Muslims have this mindset that we alone possess the final truth," Husain says. Muslims believe "Jews and Christians went before us and Mohammed was the last prophet," says Husain, whose book "The Islamist" chronicles his experiences with radicals. "Our prophet aimed to nullify the message of the previous prophets." The depth of the Muslim commitment to Islam is not only a matter of theology and current events, but of education and history, as well, other experts say. "Where religion is linked into the state institutions, where religion is deeply ingrained from childhood, you are getting this feeling that 'My way is the only way,'" says Fiyaz Mughal, the director of Faith Matters, a conflict-resolution organization in London. The Ipsos-Mori survey results included two countries with a strong link between religion and the state: Legally Muslim Saudi Arabia, which calls itself the guardian of Islam's two holiest sites, Mecca and Medina; and Indonesia, home of the world's largest Muslim population. The third majority Muslim country in the study is Turkey, which has a very different relationship with religion. It was founded after World War I as a legally secular country. But despite generations of trying to separate mosque and state, Turkey is now governed by an Islam-inspired party, the AKP. Turkey's experience shows how difficult it can be to untangle government and religion in Muslim majority countries and helps explain the Muslim commitment to their religion, says Azyumardi Azra, the Indonesia expert. He notes that there has been no "Enlightenment" in Islam as there was in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries, weakening the link between church and state in many Christian countries. "Muslim communities have never experienced intense secularization that took place in Europe and the West in general," says Azra. "So Islam is still adhered to very strongly." But it's not only the link between mosque and state in many Muslim majority countries that ties followers to their faith, says professor Akbar Ahmed, a former Pakistani diplomat who has written a book about Islam around the world. Like Christians who wear "What Would Jesus Do?" bracelets, many Muslims feel a deep personal connection to the founder of their faith, the prophet Muhammad, he says. Muhammad isn't simply a historical figure to them, but rather a personal inspiration to hundreds of millions of people around the world today. "When a Muslim is fasting or is asked to give charity or behave in a certain way, he is constantly reminded of the example set by the prophet many centuries ago," argues Ahmed, the author of "Journey Into Islam: The Crisis of Globalization." His book is based on interviews with Muslims around the world, and one thing he found wherever he traveled was admiration for Muhammad. "One of the questions was, 'Who is your role model?' From Morocco to Indonesia, it was the prophet, the prophet, the prophet," says Ahmed, the Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies at American University in Washington. But while Ahmed sees similar patterns across the Islamic world, Ed Husain, the former radical, said it was important to understand its diversity, as well. "There is no monolithic religiosity - Muslims in Indonesia and Saudi Arabia are following different versions of Islam," says Husain. "All we're seeing (in the survey) is an adherence to a faith." Political scientist Farid Senzai, director of research at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding in Washington, raised questions about the survey's findings. "Look at the countries that are surveyed - Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Turkey," he says. "There are about 300 million Muslims in those three countries, (who make up) about 20% of Muslims globally." Islam is "incredibly important" in Saudi Arabia, he says. "But in Tunisia or Morocco you could have had a different result. It would have been nice if they had picked a few more Arab countries and had a bit more diversity," says Senzai. The pollster, Ipsos-Mori, does monthly surveys in 24 countries, three of which are majority Muslim – Turkey, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia. The other countries range from India to the United States, and Mexico to South Korea, and are the same each month, regardless of the subject the pollsters are investigating. In the survey released in July, about six in 10 Muslims in the survey said their religion was the only way to salvation, while only a quarter of Hindus and two out of 10 Christians made that claim about their own faiths. More than nine out of 10 Muslims said their faith was important in their lives, while the figure was 86% for Hindus and 66% for Christians. Ipsos-Mori surveyed 18,473 adults via an online panel in April and released the findings in July. Results were weighted to make the results as representative as possible, but the pollster cautioned that because the survey was conducted online, it was harder to get representative results in poorer countries where internet access is not widespread. CNN polling director Keating Holland also warns that in an "opt-in" survey, where respondents actively choose to participate, results tend to come from "people who are confident in their opinions and express them openly... not good for intensely private matters like faith or income or sex." Online surveys in countries that are not entirely free are also open to the possibility that pollsters get "the approved response" in those nations, "where the people who are most likely to be willing to talk about such matters are the ones who hold, or at least verbalize, opinions that won't get them in trouble if they are expressed," Holland says. That may have been an issue in Saudi Arabia, where respondents were given the choice of not answering questions on religion due to their potential sensitivity in the kingdom. The Saudi sample was the smallest, with 354 participants, meaning "findings for Saudi Arabia must be treated with caution," Ipsos-Mori said. About 1,000 people participated in most countries, but sample sizes were smaller in the three majority Muslim countries and in eight other countries. The survey participants did not reflect the true percentage of Christians and Muslims in the world. Christians were over-represented – as were people who said they had no religion – and Muslims were under-represented. Nearly half the respondents identified themselves as Christian. Eleven percent were Muslim, 4% were Buddhist, 3% were Hindu and 3% were "other." A quarter said they had no religion and 6% refused to say. Fiyaz Mughal, the interfaith expert, argues that even though the countries surveyed might not be representative of the entire Muslim world, the findings about Muslims rang broadly true. Muslims in different countries were committed to their faith for different reasons, he says. "Saudi Arabia is an institutionally religious state. Indonesia has religion tied into its culture," says Mughal. But Muslim immigrants to Europe also show strong ties to their religion, either as a defense mechanism in the face of a perceived threat, or because of an effort to cling to identity, he contends. He detects a link between insular communities and commitment to faith regardless of what religion is involved. It is prevalent in Muslim Saudi Arabia, but he has seen it among Israeli Jews as well, he says. "The Israeli Jewish perspective is that (the dispute with the Palestinians) is a conflict of land and religion which are integrally linked," Mughal says. "What does play a role in that scenario is a sense of isolationism and seclusion in Israeli Jewish religious communities, a growing trend to say, 'Our way is the only way,'" he says. Religious leaders of all faiths need to combat those kinds of attitudes because of the greater diversity people encounter in the world today, he argues. They have a responsibility to teach their congregations "that if they are following a religion, it is not as brutal or exclusive as possible," Mughal says. "Things are changing. The world is a different place from what it was even 20 years ago." Politicians, too, "need to take these issues quite seriously," he says. "In the Middle East there are countries - the Saudi Arabias - where you need to be saying that diversity, while it may not be a part of the country, is something they have to deal with when moving in a globalized area," he says. But Senzai, the political scientist, says that it's also important for the West to take the Muslim world on its own terms. "Many Muslims want religion to play a role in politics," he says. "To assume that everyone around the world wants to be like the West - that they want liberal secular democracy - is an absurd idea." - CNN's Nima Elbagir and Atika Shubert contributed to this report. soundoff (5,459 Responses)« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 Next »
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The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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Its everyone's fault but the muslims. The muslims are the most persecuted "religion" on the planet. Not ! They just don't see it. They are the biggest murderers on Earth, all in the name of their fake allah and pedophile "prophet".
For a better understanding and a spiritual perspective of the history of Islam and its impact on the world-community we invite you to read the articles ‘World History and Developments in the Middle East’ and ‘Clash of Civilizations’, listed on our website http://www.aworlddeceived.ca
Also, to give people a better understanding of the destructive forces (Eph. 6:12) behind CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, etc. etc, and US Politics and the issues that divide this world, we invite you to read the articles ‘CNN Belief Blog ~ Sign of the Times’ and ‘Influence of the Media’.
All of the other pages and articles listed on our website explain how and by whom this whole world has been deceived as confirmed by the Word of God in Revelation 12:9, 2 Cor. 11:13-15 and Matthew 24:24.
We do not preach religion and neither are we in bondage thereto (1 John 5:4; John 17:14-16; 2 Cor. 6:17). The Gospel we preach is not after man. For we neither received it of man, neither were we taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Seek, and ye shall find (Matthew 7:7).
The more strict the religion...
... the harder it is to comply
... the easier it is to break the rules
... the more guilt the believers feel
... the easier they are to manipulate
... into blowing themselves
... the more the leaders control them.
Killing people who don't believe in islam is the very essence of muslim "religion". muslims always give you two choices: become a muslim or become a dead non-muslim. Of course many people are afraid to die that's why islam grew , without the understanding of the real meaning of the dangerous, violent perversion called "islam".
How much money would the following save the US taxpayers ?:
Saving 1.5 billion lost Muslims:
There never were and never will be any angels i.e. no Gabriel, no Islam and therefore no more koranic-driven acts of horror and terror
One trillion dollars over the next several years as the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan will end.
Eighteen billion dollars/yr to Pakistan will stop.
Four billion dollars/yr to Egypt will end.
Saving 2 billion lost Christians including the Mormons:
There were never any bodily resurrections and there will never be any bodily resurrections i.e. No Easter, no Christianity!!!i.e. No Easter, no Christianity.
The Mormon empire will now become taxable as will all Christian "religions" and non-profits since there is no longer any claim to being a tax-exempt religion.
Saving 15.5 million Orthodox followers of Judaism:
Abraham and Moses probably never existed.
Four billion dollars/yr to Israel saved.
All Jewish sects and non-profits will no longer be tax exempt.
Now all we need to do is convince these 3.5+ billion global and local citizens that they have been conned all these centuries Time for a Twitter and FaceBook campaign!!!!
-----------------------------------------------------
The world needs to destroy the religion called Islam!
It is a religion of murderers, thieves, liars and rapists!
Only total obliteration will stop the evils of Islam!
Destroy Islam! They are the Nazis of the modern world!
I truly think that the religion of islam preaches hate towards any other religion. I have love for these poeple wether they be arab muslims or any muslim from anywhere else! but know this I think the growing rate of people who convert to islam is alarming because that means we will have a growing problem of terror! I'm sorry but I do not think that islam is a religion of peace I think theses people tolerate everybody!
It's odd that a study author cites the "enlightenment" as a basis for continuing faith of Muslim cultures. It was precisely during the renaissance and protestant reformation that Western science, mathematics and medicine flourished and the previously Muslim dominance of science was completely eroded. There seems to be an inverse relationship between scientific advancement and religious zealotry.
And when you're paying $7.00 a gallon for gas made from Russian oil, you dumb liberals will complain about the evil, greedy oil companies, the ones you boycott and cut off from drilling in the gulf,... and the unemployment goes to 20% because other Over Regulated industries followed them in downsizing , and then you'll take another hit from your Hookah and go protest, cause the windmill in your neighborhood only works intermittantly, and why can't the government do something to make the wind blow 24/7 ? Cause you can't keep your iphone charged, so you can tweet the ACLU about how mean Sarah Palin is.
...
Cause and effect, you reap what you sow.
Wake up America!
Any religion that can not co-exist with other religions, any religion which contradicts the discoveries of science, any religion that preaches it is superior than other religions, any religion which does not allow people to question and debate has no place in today's world.
Don't you know Noah went around with a Petri dish and collected countless microbes just so we could still have them after the flood? The bible doesn't say that, but that's what it must mean because the bible is just absolutely TRUE!
Yes! DEATH TO ISLAM!
Only total obliteration will stop the evils of Islam!
The world must destroy Islam sooner or later!
Better to do it sooner. Do not waste time!
Destroy Islam now!
Yeah, because in today's world people are applauded for seeking the truth, but when someone attests that they have found it they are shunned and ridiculed. There is ONE truth in this world–not many. It's not multiple choice. We can't fathom how sinful we are (everyone) and how righteous and holy God is. The problem is that His standards are just a pure and perfection as His nature, which we all fall deeply short of. The only way to be reconciled to God is recognizing our need for a savior and putting our trust in Him, Jesus Christ. But no, religious people want to believe that they can make it into God's kingdom by their own works. That's like a murderer or a thief that they've lived a good life and to just overlook their crimes. It doesn't work that way. Everyone will be judged and those without faith in Christ will be found lacking in merit and will be judged accordingly (thrown into hell).
*Perfect, not perfection. Sorry.
Because from the day they are born they are taught that they will rot in hell if they so much as question their faith. Evolution is not taught in school over there so they don't even know how dumb islam is. It's the greatest evil we face today. Horrid religion.
I am a religious fanatic. Nothing exists if it is not mentioned in the only ancient religious text that I ever read. What is this so-called anti-matter? It's just fairy tale garbage made up by scientists. They are infidels and idiots. I don't care if they can supposedly prove anything by repeating their empirical measurements in experiment after experiment. If my god didn't tell me about it then it just ain't so. Fossil records had to have been planted by the great Shaitan to fool mankind, but I am not fooled. I believe in the one true god. Scientists who claim that they can see stars dying billions of light years away are also lying, because the earth had not existed for billions of years. Them scientists are all liars.
Jews are what, .02% of the world's population? Yet they lead the West around by the nose. Jews are used to getting what they want. Let the Jews fight their own battles!
yeah we're 0.02% of the world's population yet have earned more nobel prizes and contributed more to science than any other ethnic group on earth, despite the fact that people are constantly trying to kill us. U MAD, HITLER?
Maybe they just work harder. or raise their kids better. or make better choices. Not everything is a conspiracy against you- maybe you're really as dumb as everybody says you are.
Judaism is also making strides in correcting its history.
To wit:
origin: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20E1EFE35540C7A8CDDAA0894DA404482 NY Times review and important enough to reiterate.
New Torah For Modern Minds
“Abraham, the Jewish patriarch, probably never existed. Nor did Moses. The entire Exodus story as recounted in the Bible probably never occurred. The same is true of the tumbling of the walls of Jericho. And David, far from being the fearless king who built Jerusalem into a mighty capital, was more likely a provincial leader whose reputation was later magnified to provide a rallying point for a fledgling nation.
Such startling propositions - the product of findings by archaeologists digging in Israel and its environs over the last 25 years - have gained wide acceptance among non-Orthodox rabbis. But there has been no attempt to disseminate these ideas or to discuss them with the laity - until now.
The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, which represents the 1.5 million Conservative Jews in the United States, has just issued a new Torah and commentary, the first for Conservatives in more than 60 years. Called "Etz Hayim" ("Tree of Life" in Hebrew), it offers an interpretation that incorporates the latest findings from archaeology, philology, anthropology and the study of ancient cultures. To the editors who worked on the book, it represents one of the boldest efforts ever to introduce into the religious mainstream a view of the Bible as a human rather than divine doc-ument.
The notion that the Bible is not literally true "is more or less settled and understood among most Conservative rabbis," observed David Wolpe, a rabbi at Sinai Temple in Los Angeles and a contributor to "Etz Hayim." But some congregants, he said, "may not like the stark airing of it." Last Passover, in a sermon to 2,200 congregants at his synagogue, Rabbi Wolpe frankly said that "virtually every modern archaeologist" agrees "that the way the Bible describes the Exodus is not the way that it happened, if it happened at all." The rabbi offered what he called a "LITANY OF DISILLUSION”' about the narrative, including contradictions, improbabilities, chronological lapses and the absence of corroborating evidence. In fact, he said, archaeologists digging in the Sinai have "found no trace of the tribes of Israel - not one shard of pottery."
Death to HitlerII ! He is obviously a lying Muslim!
Wipe out Islam!
Wipe out the modern Nazis of Islam!
I think your troll stats are out of whack? If you're that paranoid about .02% of the populations, you should really be worried about water, as your lifetime odds of drowning are .15%
They still live in 15th century. Their educational level is poor. Their IQ is super low. Any other questions?
or course they dont want freedom and democracy
We talking about parts of oklahoma or the U. S. in general
Syrakoose, get the facts. In America and all around the world Muslims have a very high rate of education. In America Muslims rate of education is higher than the general population. Of the many Muslim women I know and meet, they are all in school getting a first or second degree.
Better read some history...........Most of the modern sicence and mathematical works are based on the discoveries by Muslaims.
Religious BELIEF is a serious psychological disorder.
* NeoCeon *
And apparently it's contagious.
I'd say it's more like drug addiction. Instead of "mind altering chemicals", people are getting "mind altering illusions". Same thing. People love their addictions that free them from otherwise more than mediocre lives!
Absolutely, ashrakay.
It is like a fatal cancer that's destroying humanity. I just hope the development of our human society will eventually be enough to overcome this disease.
If there's great enough evolution in intellect, rationality, and mental clarity then religion will have no chance of surviving.
* NeoCeon *
neoceon – there are too many "rewards" in religion that people don't want to give up. It's like trying to "educate" a drug addict!
If I go somewhere by myself and come back claiming that "god" revealed "his" plan for mankind to me and only me....does the fact that I write it down make it TRUE? Who the h&|| believes in some crap story that can't be corroborated?
Islam is such a peaceful religion. Just ask the surviving family members.
I don't know what you mean by more religious???? It depends upon the country which the person of that religion comes from. If you look at Christians that come from a country such as Egypt they practice their Christianity just as much as their Muslim counterparts. If you look at Jews in Israel they practice their religion just as much as Muslims and Christians. Also, the same for Buddhists. Go to India and see how Buddhists practice their religion. Now I don't care who you are (religion) if you go to live in a country like somewhere in Europe or America you will adapt to their way of life. We call it being Americanized here in America! Give it a few years and I don't care what religion you come from "YOU WILL" become AMERICANIZED! If you're looking at newly immigrated Muslims just immigrated from their home country then YES I would say that they are more into their religion so to speak. Remember too that not all religions are required to cover their hair, eat specific food, and pray five times a day. Does that make a person who does not do these things less religious???? No, because it is not a part of their religion. Heck I remember my grandmother covering her hair when she first migrated to America and she is not Muslim. Remember too that Islam is the newest (baby) religion. What the writer of this article is trying to stir up I don't know!
They are more religious because they are less educated. It's a fact that the more uneducated people are the more religious they are. You can't be educated and religious. The two aren't compatible.
This logic doesn't work. Many educated people are deeply religious. It's a special fear that herds people toward religion The vulnerability to this fear causes people to accepy mythology in total defiance of logic. It's not about education as much as emotional vulnerability.
@mccccc – what an incredibly absurd and "uneducated" statement. I know of hundreds if not thousands of examples of highly educated, learned and intelligent people who are deeply committed Christians. For you to claim that faith and an educated intellect are mutually exclusive betrays your own lack of understand of how both work.
I agree. Education = critical thinking. If you don't have that, you are not educated regardless of how many Phds you have.
I think it's a factor with some but there are plenty of highly educated people that still believe in the unverifiable delusion of fantasy. Most of it comes from indoctrination from childhood. But some of it is just flawed reductionist logic... I can't explain something, therefore it must be god...
You obviously do NOT know what you are talking about!!!
Come to Harvard biology labs and talk to people about religion!!! I'd say roughly half of the people believes in God, and that includes Christians and Muslims...
Are muslims more religious? Absolutely. I don't believe in religion but a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Because of his sacrifice on the Cross, Christians do not need religion. We have relationship. We are in love.
In love? Awww...how romantic.
*unverified
Whoa! Get a room.
@Derek – Yeah man! 🙂
well when u die.. your heart will be broken.