WASHINGTON, D.C. (Jan. 28, 2025) – A new Pew Research Center survey of three dozen countries finds that people who live in middle-income countries are more likely than people in high-income countries to be "religious nationalists," though religious nationalists do not make up a majority of the population in any country surveyed. 

In this report, people are classified as religious nationalists if they identify with their country's historically predominant religion and take a strongly religious position on four key questions in our survey, all related to the role of religion in national identity and government.  

The prevalence of religious nationalism varies widely across the surveyed countries: Fewer than 1% of adults surveyed meet the criteria in Germany and Sweden, compared with more than four-in-ten in Indonesia (46%) and Bangladesh (45%). While just 6% of U.S. adults are classified in this analysis as religious nationalists, U.S. adults are more likely than people in any other high-income country surveyed to say their country's historically predominant religious text (in this case, the Bible) currently has a great deal or some influence over the national laws. And the U.S. public is also more inclined than people in other high-income countries to say that the Bible should have that kind of influence (again, relative to the sacred texts asked about in other places).

In four sub-Saharan African countries surveyed, views of religion are generally positive. At least eight-in-ten adults in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa say religion mostly helps society, and roughly three-quarters or more in each country say religion encourages tolerance. Many adults in these countries also want their national leader to stand up for people with their religious beliefs.  

In Nigeria, Muslims are broadly supportive of making sharia the official law for Muslims in their country. Though only four-in-ten Nigerian Muslims say their country can be both a Muslim state and a democratic state at the same time.  

Across all countries surveyed where Christianity is the historically predominant religion, Kenya stands out for having the highest share of religious nationalists – 32% of Kenyans are classified as such under the definition used for this analysis.  

(Refer to the Methodology links below for more information on how we classified "religious nationalists" and how we asked about different religions and religious texts.)  

Additional findings:

The impact of religion on society

    Views of religion are broadly positive around the world, but more so in middle-income countries. A median of 87% in the 18 middle-income countries surveyed say religion mostly helps society, compared to a median of 56% across 18 high-income countries.
    People also largely view religion as encouraging tolerance rather than intolerance.  
        But people in middle-income countries are more likely than those in high-income countries to say religion encourages tolerance. And small majorities in Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Australia say religion encourages intolerance.
    Globally, people are divided over whether religion encourages superstitious thinking or not. A 36-country median of 52% say it does not encourage superstitious thinking, while 42% say it does.

National leaders and their connection to religion  

    In many countries, having a leader who stands up for people's religious beliefs is seen as more important than having a leader who shares one's own religious beliefs.  
        A median of 30% across the 35 countries where we asked these questions think having a leader who stands up for people with their religious beliefs is very important. A median of 22% think it's very important for a leader to share their religious beliefs.

Religion and national identity  

    People's views on the importance of religion to national identity vary widely. For example, 86% in Tunisia say being a Muslim is very important for being truly Tunisian, while 3% in Sweden say being a Christian is very important for being truly Swedish.
    Large shares in middle-income countries say being a member of the historically predominant religion in their country is very important for truly sharing the national identity. In high-income countries, though, many instead say religion is not at all important to national identity.
        Israel stands out as the only high-income country where at least a third say following the predominant religion – Judaism, in this case – is a very important element of national identity. Fewer than a quarter in the rest of the high-income countries surveyed agree.
    In some European countries, supporters of right-wing populist parties are more likely than nonsupporters to place great importance on religion as a key aspect of national identity. These include populist party supporters in France, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Spain and the UK.  
    Even in middle-income countries, being a member of the historically predominant religion is often seen as less important to national identity than other factors asked about, including being born in the country, sharing its customs and traditions, and especially speaking the local language. For more on these views, read "What makes someone 'truly' belong in a country?"
        Compared with people in other high-income countries, Americans are particularly divided along ideological lines when it comes to assessments of what is important for being truly American.

The influence of religious texts on national laws  

    A majority of adults in most middle-income countries surveyed believe a religious text should influence the laws of their country. This generally holds true despite people in different countries being asked about different texts.
        In many high-income countries, including Australia, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the UK, around half or more say the Bible should have no influence at all on the laws of their country.  
    In most countries, followers of the historically predominant religion are more likely than people of other religions to say their religious text should influence the nation's laws. For instance, 57% of Hindus in India say Hindu teachings should have great influence on India's laws, while 26% of Indian Muslims take this position.  
        Jewish Israelis (19%) are more likely than Muslim Israelis (5%) to say Jewish scripture should have a great deal of influence on Israeli laws. But around half of Haredi ("ultra-Orthodox") and Dati ("religious") Jews (52%) want Jewish scripture to have a great deal of influence on Israeli law, compared with just 10% of Masorti ("traditional") Jews and 2% of Hiloni ("secular") Jews.  

Views of religious texts

A follow-up question was asked among people who said the historically predominant religion's sacred text should have a great deal or fair amount of influence on the law: If the religious text and the will of the people conflict with each other, which should have more influence on the laws of their country? Views are divided, but in many countries, people on the ideological right are more likely than those on the left to say religious texts should be prioritized over the will of the people when the two conflict in the course of lawmaking.

These are among the key findings of a Pew Research Center report based on nationally representative surveys of nearly 55,000 adults conducted Jan. 5- May 22, 2024, in 36 countries.  

This analysis, funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts and the John Templeton Foundation, is part of the Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures project, a broader effort by Pew Research Center to study religious change and its impact on societies around the world.

Read the full report: https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2025/01/28/comparing-levels-of-religious-nationalism-around-the-world/