28 September 2011

Egypt: What statistics say about the role of religion in politics and society

.... Interestingly, 76% said that for a person to be of good manners and noble character, he “must” be religious, a clear indication of the prevalence of the belief that good character mainly emanates from religious practice & faith, with implications on the selection of political candidates of course among other things.

Of particular interest, however, is the statistic that claimed that 83% of the sample believed that religion is a private matter and that every person should be free to choose his own religion.

Conversely, a whopping 76% said they are against removing the religion-specifying section in the national ID card, while 16% said they are for such removal, an issue of thorny debate in recent times. [Bikya Masr] Read more [via National Secular Society]