
This post is based on my publication in the Politics and Religion journal. A version of this is also published on the Religion in Public blog.
Among some of the most consistent findings in the study of Islam and politics is that people in Muslim countries generally have lower tolerance than those in non-Muslim countries.
For example, a religious freedom report by the Pew Research Center shows that Muslim countries on average have higher social hostilities than non-Muslim countries. In other words, social groups in Muslim countries are more restrictive of (minority) religious groups than are groups in non-Muslim countries.

Another example would be from the World Values Survey that shows high percentages of respondents in Muslim countries who object to having a neighbor from a different religion or say that they do not trust people from a different religion.

What, then, explains this phenomenon?
Continue reading Friendships Might Explain Why Muslim Countries Have Low Tolerance