Author Archives: RFBF

The typical government response to religious hostilities is to tighten restrictions on religion. But, contrary to common perceptions, a solid body of empirical and historical research shows that piling on additional restrictions does not ensure peace and stability, but rather can fuel additional grievances. Indeed, research shows that the price of denying religious freedoms is far higher than protecting them.

Specifically, as social hostilities involving religion rise, government restrictions on religion rise, leading to more violence, setting up a religious violence cycle that become difficult to break, with direct adverse effects on business, foreign investment and world economies. Two examples help demonstrate how religious restrictions and hostilities are bad for business:

(1) Blasphemy Laws. Pakistan’s speech-restricting blasphemy laws often sow discord rather than the purported aim of promoting peace, as two high ranking government officials were recently assassinated for merely questioning the laws. These laws also have a direct negative impact on businesses. There are “recorded instances of business or personal rivals accusing each other of blasphemy to extract revenge for a past grievance. The blasphemy laws in Pakistan have not only been used in cases where individuals have been accused of specific blasphemies, they have also been used to ban websites like Facebook, YouTube, and Wikipedia because of content that would be considered sacrilegious” Tarin and Uddin 2013, p. 19).

(2) Egypt: Religious Violence Cycle & the Economy. The religious violence cycle is playing out today in Egypt in the back-and-forth social and political struggle between the supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood and the coalition opposing them. Of course, this struggle directly impacts the important tourist industry, but it also drives away foreign investment. And this has adverse effects on foreign economies.

To end the cycle of religious violence and its negative impact, observers of post-Mubarak Egypt concluded that all factions in society – including Islamists – must feel that their voices are heard and that “special attention should be paid to the economy …” (Shaikh and Ghanem 2013, p. 2).

Also, as the role of women is debated within Islam and between Muslims in Egypt and countries ranging from Morocco and Iraq to Pakistan and Indonesia, religious restrictions on women also impact economic outcomes as the future health of economies is related to the economic opportunities afforded women. Furthermore, not only do religious restrictions have adverse effects on the economy, but a poor economy can reinforce religious intolerance, adding to the religious violence cycle. And perhaps most telling, as Egypt’s religion-related tensions have grown, Egypt’s young entrepreneurs desire to move outside the country rather put their hopes in their home.

After establishing and leading the widely acclaimed research on global religious restrictions at the Pew Research Center, Brian Grim will leave the Center on Feb. 1 to become the founding president of theReligious Freedom & Business Foundation.*

Grim will launch the new global foundation at a series of public events and planning meetings in Brazil.

The Foundation educates the global business community about how religious freedom is good for business, and engages the business community in joining forces with government and non-government organizations in promoting respect for freedom of religion or belief. It envisions a future of innovative and sustainable economies where religious freedom and diversity are respected.

The Foundation’s work focuses on game-changing global initiatives in an increasingly religious world:

• Business, Faith & Freedom Global Forums at World Expos (Milan 2015 & Astana 2017) that showcase faith’s role in inspiring successful business innovations that improve the world
• Religious Freedom & Business Global Awards presented in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, the host city of the Olympic Games, for best business initiatives to improve respect for religious freedom
• Sustainable and empowering businesses for religious minorities sponsored by investors who obtain positive financial and social returns on their investment
• Executive training, workshops and symposiums on ways to implement policies that promote innovative and sustainable businesses where religious freedom and diversity are respected

The Foundation is the first organization dedicated to educating businesses about why religious freedom will enable them to be more productive and successful, and how they can effectively incorporate religious freedom in their strategic business plans for the benefit of their stake holders, their employees and society.

As Brian begins this new global endeavor, the work he started at Pew Research will continue.

Follow Brian on Twitter, Linkedin, Facebook, and at his Weekly Number Blog

* The Foundation is a non-partisan charitable organization working with business people, academics, government officials and community leaders from multiple faiths (or of none) to accomplish its mission. The Foundation is a registered corporation and is applying for IRS recognition as a non-profit 501(c)3 organization in the USA.

Global Religious Restrictions Project Transition

Since 2006, the Pew Research Center has analyzed the extent to which governments and societies around the world impinge on religious beliefs and practices. This work has gained a large, international audience and will continue as part of the Center’s Religion & Public Life Project.

The methods used by Pew Research to measure restrictions on religion evolved from a study that Brian J. Grim, Ph.D., and Roger Finke, Ph.D., previously conducted at Penn State University’s Association of Religion Data Archives. From 2006 through January 2014, Dr. Grim was a senior researcher in religion and world affairs and director of cross-national data at the Pew Research Center. In that capacity, he and other members of the Pew Research staff refined the methodology and published five major research reports on global religious restrictions and hostilities.

On February 1, 2014, Dr. Grim is leaving the Pew Research Center to become the founding president of the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation, where he encourages businesses to consider religious freedom issues as they choose and make investments. While Dr. Grim may cite the Center’s research, any commentaries or analyses produced by him in his new capacity are his own. The Pew Research Center does not take positions on policy issues.

Starting in March 2014, Peter S. Henne, Ph.D., will return to the Pew Research Center to lead the study of global religious restrictions and hostilities. From 2009 to 2012, Dr. Henne was a research analyst at the Pew Research Center, working closely with Dr. Grim on the religious restrictions study. For the past year, he has run a data coding and analysis project at the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) at the University of Maryland. Dr. Henne is a graduate of Vassar College and received his doctorate in government from Georgetown University.