State regulation of religion: the effect of religious freedom on Muslims’ religiosity

Ridge, Hannah M.

doi:10.1080/09637494.2020.1804781

Cited by 5 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Most of the findings are consistent with the religious market theory's prediction that regulation decreases the consumption of religious goods (Finke 2013; Finke and Stark 1988; Iannaccone 1988, 1992, 1995; Stark and Finke 2000). This congruence is notable because the theory appears to be less predictive of religious dynamics in non‐Christian countries (Driessen 2014; Ridge 2020; Saiya and Manchanda 2022). But some of the findings—that regulation is not negatively associated with importance among individuals who identify with a religion in at least one wave—point to the shortcomings of the theory.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The notion that religious regulation can spur more, not less, religiosity remains prevalent. Recent studies using a data set of Muslim‐majority countries (Ridge 2020) and a data set of non‐Christian countries (Saiya and Manchanda 2022) find in some models that religious groups facing restrictions are more active. Likewise, it is not uncommon for a study to argue that the Chinese state, despite its intentions, inadvertently helped to spread Christianity (e.g., Zhong 2016).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In some models, the association is positive. For example, Ridge (2020) reports that restrictive regulation is positively associated with belief in Allah. Furthermore, Saiya and Manchanda (2022) investigate predictors of Christian population change using a data set of countries from 2010 to 2020.…”

Section: Evidence On Religious Regulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Economy of Shadows: The Effects of Restrictive Regulation on Religiosity in China

Francis-Tan

2023

Scientific Study of Religion

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Religion is permitted in China, but its practice is tightly regulated by the state. This paper uses individual‐level longitudinal data to investigate the association between religious regulation and religious outcomes in China. Measures of regulation are constructed from instances of state action against Christians as well as Christian perceptions of unfair treatment by the government. In summary, as regulation increases, an individual is less likely to identify with a religion and less likely to say that religion is important. For those individuals without religious identification in either wave, regulation is negatively associated with religious importance. Yet, for those individuals with identification in one or two waves, regulation is either unassociated or even positively associated with importance. These findings contribute to research on regulation of religion and religion in China. More broadly, they demonstrate the state can wield considerable power over people's private lives but also that this power has limits.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Economy of Shadows: The Effects of Restrictive Regulation on Religiosity in China

Francis-Tan

2023

Scientific Study of Religion

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“…Their empirical result based on cross‐country data of 18 countries demonstrates that state intervention has a significant negative impact on the religious participation of Muslims. However, Ridge (2020) finds no relationship between government interference in and regulation of religion and religious attitudes of Muslims except belief in Allah . Moreover, unlike the other studies examining the impact of government interference on religion, the study indicates that both government interference in and regulation of religion influence Muslims’ propensity to believe in Allah in a positive way.…”

Section: Imposing Religion Through the State: A Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The negative impact of government intervention in the religious sphere or politicization of religion on religious attitudes has been documented in a number of publications (Chaves, Schraeder, and Sprindys 1994; Fox and Tabory 2008; McCleary and Barro 2006; North and Gwin 2004; Ridge 2020). In the vast majority of these studies, researchers have used cross‐country data and standardized intervention measures.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can the State Make you More Religious? Evidence from Turkish Experience

Çokgezen

2022

Scientific Study of Religion

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This paper first evaluates the impact of a two-decade-long Islamization policy carried out by a pro-Islamist party, which came to power in 2002 in Turkey, on the attitudes of Turkish people toward religious values, religious practices, and clergy. In this regard, how the importance of religion, frequency of going to mosques, and trust in the clergy have changed among Turkish Muslims between 2002 and 2018 were examined by using World Values Survey data and employing logistic regression analysis. Estimation results indicated a reduction in belief in God, attendance to mosques, and trust in clergy, which imply the failure of the Islamization policy. Second, we explored what caused the failure by using the same data set and methodology. Our estimations suggested that the symbiotic relationship between the pro-Islamist government and religious clergy and institutions may explain the failure. As the government is identified with religion in the eye of the public, dissatisfaction with the government turned to dissatisfaction with religious values.

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Paradoxes of Pluralism, Privilege, and Persecution: Explaining Christian Growth and Decline Worldwide

Saiya

Manchanda

2021

Sociology of Religion

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This article examines the effect of church–state relations on rates of Christian population growth or decline worldwide. It makes the paradoxical argument that contexts of both pluralism and persecution do not impede Christian growth rates. In these environments, Christians do not have the luxury of becoming complacent. On one hand, pluralism means that Christianity must actively compete with other faith traditions in order to gain and maintain adherents. On the other hand, persecution can, paradoxically, sometimes strengthen Christianity by deepening attachments to faith and reinforcing solidarity among Christians. Rather, it is a third type of relationship—privilege, or state support for Christianity—that corresponds to the greatest threat to growth in Christianity. Countries where Christianity is privileged by the state encourage apathy and the politicization of religion, resulting in a less dynamic faith and the overall decline of Christian populations. We test these propositions using a cross-national, time-series analysis of a global sample of countries from 2010 to 2020. Our findings provide support for our theory that Christianity suffers in contexts of privilege but not in environments of pluralism or persecution. The finding is robust to a number of model specifications and statistical approaches.

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State regulation of religion: the effect of religious freedom on Muslims’ religiosity

Cited by 5 publications

References 22 publications

Economy of Shadows: The Effects of Restrictive Regulation on Religiosity in China

Economy of Shadows: The Effects of Restrictive Regulation on Religiosity in China

Can the State Make you More Religious? Evidence from Turkish Experience

Paradoxes of Pluralism, Privilege, and Persecution: Explaining Christian Growth and Decline Worldwide

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