Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods before Me provides the most comprehensive analysis of the nature, correlates, and dynamics of government-based religious discrimination to date. Drawing on quantitative data for 771 religious minorities in 183 countries and independent territories from 1990 to 2014, Jonathan Fox addresses two central questions. Why do governments discriminate against religious minorities in general? And, why do they discriminate against some minority religions more than others? The study's principal findings are as striking as they are surprising. Government-based religious discrimination is ubiquitous, increasing, and unequal. This even applies to contexts we traditionally do not expect, namely Western liberal democracies.
Those looking for a simple and straightforward answer for these trends will be disappointed. Fox acknowledges from the outset that the correlates of religious discrimination are complex, cross-cutting, and multifaceted. This sets up for a theoretically-nuanced and empirically-rich study that informs and provokes in equal measure. It also pushes far beyond past empirical analyses, which look primarily at variation between countries. Fox, in contrast, leverages his Religion and State-Minorities dataset (RASM3) to analyze differences in government-based discrimination toward an unparalleled number of minority religious groups across and within 183 states and independent territories.
The book is organized into two main parts. The initial three chapters discuss conceptual and measurement issues, outline key sets of factors associated with religious discrimination, and present global trends. Of particular importance, Fox makes a distinction between government-based (GRD) and societal (SRD) religious discrimination. The former is defined as restrictions by the state on the religious practices or institutions of minority religions that are not placed on the majority religion; the latter involves persecution by non-government actors. GRD remains the focus of the study, but detailed descriptive statistics are provided for both types. This includes an overview of how common each is against six minority religions for the first and last years of the dataset.
The breadth and depth of the analysis is sometimes overwhelming. But, three general patterns quickly jump out. First, GRD is very common. Nearly 90% of the observed countries engage in GRD against approximately 75% of the minorities at some point during the period of study. Even for long-standing advocates of religious freedom, the sheer prevalence of GRD will give pause. Second, GRD has steadily risen from 1990 to 2014, increasing by nearly 25% over the two and a half decades. Third, states do not discriminate equally. Rather, most countries that discriminate against minority religions do so more for some groups than others. Some analysts may have suspected this pattern, but it was impossible to systematically test before the author compiled and analyzed the RASM3.
The initial chapters also present key sets of factors that may be associated with GRD writ large, as well as discrimination toward particular minorities. The former consists of state ideologies, religious monopolies, religious tradition, regime type and stability, and regional effects. Correlates of unequal discrimination include religious and secular ideologies, nationalism and culture, threat perceptions, minority size, and anti-Semitism.
The second half of the book investigates the varied influence of each factor across five main groupings of states. These categories are largely defined by the majority religion and regime type of countries. For example, there are chapters on Muslim-majority states and non-Orthodox Christian-majority democracies. The study also examines Orthodox, Buddhist, and Communist states, as well as democracies and non-democracies in the developing world. While no single cause emerges, government religion policy and SRD stand out as two of the most consistent predictors of GRD across regions.
Many readers will be jarred by one other finding that emerges from this comparative approach. Western liberal democracies are not the most religiously tolerant countries in the world. Rather, democracies and even some non-democracies in Latin America, Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa engage in lower levels of GRD. Fox hypothesizes that this is because Western democracies have more resources to repress and several are guided by secular-liberal ideologies. This, however, remains an open question—one sure to spark further debate.
Ultimately, Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods before Me widens and sharpens our comparative perspective on the forms and causes of religious discrimination. Given the success of such a major undertaking it feels almost unfair to ask for more. Yet, there are two minor areas in which I would have liked to see the analysis push further. First, additional consideration could have been given to how the various correlates of GRD do or do not interact with one another. Are there particular combinations that matter more than others? Are there moderating variables that impact their influence in particular settings?
Second, I would have appreciated a more robust discussion of the country groupings. Fox acknowledges that breaking up a dataset like this is unusual for quantitative studies and provides reasonable justification for doing so (pp. 18–19). Yet, it would help the reader to know more about what other possible groupings could have been applied, whether the findings are robust to those alternatives, and to what other patterns of GRD they might point.
These are, of course, minor quibbles. Fox's analysis is careful, compelling, and challenging. It opens numerous avenues for additional research and debate. And, it points to a number of policy recommendations. The final one is sure to haunt many readers long after they put this volume down. If those of us in the West seek to promote religious freedom around the globe, we need to first clean up our own house (p. 268). Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods before Me is a timely reminder that few are in a position to cast the first stone when it comes to religious freedom violations.
