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Explaining Discrimination against Religious Minorities

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 April 2017

Roger Finke ,
Robert R. Martin  and
Jonathan Fox
Roger Finke*
Affiliation:
Pennsylvania State University
Robert R. Martin*
Affiliation:
Southeastern Louisiana University
Jonathan Fox*
Affiliation:
Bar-Ilan University
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Roger Finke, Department of Sociology, Pennsylvania State University, 211 Oswald Tower, University Park, PA 16802. E-mail: rfinke@psu.edu; or to: Robert R. Martin, Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, Southeastern Louisiana University, Fayard Hall, 1205 North Oask Street, SLU Box 10686, Hammond, LA 70402. E-mail: rrmartin@southeastern.edu; or to: Jonathan Fox, Department of Political Studies, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, 5290002 Israel. E-mail: jonathan.fox@biu.ac.il.
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Roger Finke, Department of Sociology, Pennsylvania State University, 211 Oswald Tower, University Park, PA 16802. E-mail: rfinke@psu.edu; or to: Robert R. Martin, Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, Southeastern Louisiana University, Fayard Hall, 1205 North Oask Street, SLU Box 10686, Hammond, LA 70402. E-mail: rrmartin@southeastern.edu; or to: Jonathan Fox, Department of Political Studies, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, 5290002 Israel. E-mail: jonathan.fox@biu.ac.il.
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Roger Finke, Department of Sociology, Pennsylvania State University, 211 Oswald Tower, University Park, PA 16802. E-mail: rfinke@psu.edu; or to: Robert R. Martin, Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, Southeastern Louisiana University, Fayard Hall, 1205 North Oask Street, SLU Box 10686, Hammond, LA 70402. E-mail: rrmartin@southeastern.edu; or to: Jonathan Fox, Department of Political Studies, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, 5290002 Israel. E-mail: jonathan.fox@biu.ac.il.
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Abstract

Research has documented that religious minorities often face the brunt of religious discrimination. Yet formal tests, using global collections, have been lacking. Building on the religious economy theory and recent work in law and politics, we propose that minority religions face discrimination from the state because they represent unwanted competition for the state supported religion, are viewed as a threat to the state and larger culture, and lack support from an independent judiciary. Drawing on the recently collected Religion and State-Minorities collection on more than 500 minority religions, we find support for each of the propositions, though the level of support varies based on the targets of state discrimination. In general, the support is strongest when explaining discrimination against minority religion's institutions and clergy, but weakens when explaining more general discrimination against the membership.

Type
Articles
Information
Politics and Religion , Volume 10 , Issue 2 , June 2017 , pp. 389 - 416
Copyright
Copyright © Religion and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association 2017 

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Footnotes

This project was made possible through the support of the John Templeton Foundation and the Israel Science Foundation Grant No. 23/14. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation or the Israel Science Foundation.

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