South Africa Leads on Religious Tolerance

Public attitudes toward religious tolerance vary widely across societies, as reflected in an Ipsos survey conducted in 2023. Among the 26 countries polled, roughly three in four (76 percent) said that they felt completely comfortable around people who hold different religious beliefs. Tolerance levels were highest in South Africa, where nine in ten people expressed this view. At the other end of the spectrum were Spain (68 percent), Japan (59 percent), Germany (56 percent) and South Korea (53 percent).

The survey also highlighted differing perceptions of religion’s impact on the world. Nearly half of respondents (47 percent) said they believe that religion does more harm than good. This sentiment was most prevalent in India (73 percent), Sweden (70 percent) and the United Kingdom (66 percent), while it was least common in Thailand (27 percent), Peru (32 percent) and Argentina (33 percent).