Dr. Dennis P. Petri, International Director of the International Institute for Religious Freedom (IIRF), and Dr. Jason Klocek, Professor at the University of Nottingham, published the article “Measuring Subnational Variation in Freedom of Religion or Belief Violations: Reflections on a Path Forward” in the Review of Faith & International Affairs.
The authors note that although data collection instruments measuring freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) and its violations around the world have become more available and provide important insights, they often overlook significant aspects of the religious freedom situation. The authors argue that the country-level focus of existing datasets often obscures subnational variation and leaves open important questions about the mechanisms driving FoRB violations in particular contexts. Through this article, the authors seek to initiate a more systematic discussion of how to collect, analyze, and, where appropriate, incorporate subnational measures of FoRB violations into global datasets.
Drawing on original empirical fieldwork in Latin America, the authors emphasize the need for such efforts by showing that structural forms of religious discrimination observed at the subnational level often go unnoticed in existing global datasets.
The identification of overlooked aspects in religious freedom research such as subnational variation is highly relevant to the IIRF and its objectives.
We invite you to read the full article here.