The Unfree Exercise of Religion A World Survey of Discrimination against Religious Minorities

Religious discrimination is the norm in many countries around the world, and the rate is rising. Nearly every country which discriminates does so unequally, singling out some religious minorities for more discrimination than others. Religious tradition does not explain this complex issue. For example, Muslim majority states include both the most discriminatory and tolerant states in the world, as is also the case with Christian majority states. Religious ideologies, nationalism, regime, culture, security issues, and political issues are also all part of the answer. In The Unfree Exercise of Religion Jonathan Fox examines how we understand concepts like religious discrimination and religious freedom, and why countries discriminate. He makes a study of religious discrimination against 597 religious minorities in 177 countries between 1990 and 2008. While 29 types of discrimination are discussed in this book, the most common include restrictions in places of worship, proselytizing, and religious education.

1. Introduction; 2. What is religious discrimination?; 3. The causes and consequences of religious discrimination; 4. Christian majority states 1 - Western democracies and the former Soviet bloc; 5. Christian majority countries 2 - the Third World; 6. Muslim majority countries; 7. Other countries; 8. Conclusions.

Jonathan Fox is a Professor of Political Studies at Bar Ilan University in Ramat Gan, Israel and Director of the Religion and State project.