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

The Unfree Exercise of Religion shows that most of the 597 religious minorities in 177 countries experience rising levels of religious discrimination.

Jonathan Fox (Author)

9781107589728, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 10 May 2018

235 pages, 36 tables
23 x 15.3 x 2 cm, 0.37 kg

'Political scientist Jonathan Fox brings his characteristic blend of analytic acuity, encyclopedic coverage, and moral concern to the phenomenon of religious discrimination. Drawing from the extraordinary dataset that he has constructed over several years, he brings striking results to bear: all across the globe, religious discrimination is widespread and is getting worse.' Daniel Philpott, Center for Civil and Human Rights

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.

Subject Areas: Religious freedom / freedom of worship [JPVH4], Political control & freedoms [JPV], Religion & politics [HRAM2], Comparative religion [HRAC], Religion & beliefs [HR]