Religion, Minority

The Usual Case

In the most frequent situation, a society is populated mostly by adherents of one or more major faiths, with all other smaller or newer religions being considered minority in both numbers and political power. Catholic countries in Central and South America during the past several centuries illustrate this pattern, although in the early stages of colonization, the Catholic faith, a minority in numbers, dominated politically over a much larger Indigenous population practicing Native religions.

European nations also usually exemplify this pattern of one dominant faith as well, as in the case of Catholic Italy or even officially secular but thoroughly Catholic France, although some nations have more than one major faith. Germany sanctions both Lutheran and Catholic faiths; Hungary officially approves of both Catholic and Protestant faiths and allows and encourages them to be heavily involved in the public life of the society, while allowing minority religions to operate openly. The Netherlands also has more than one dominant religion with three separate, partially tax-supported institutional structures that dominate the society, one Protestant, one Catholic, and one Jewish.

In these societies with one or more dominant and officially sanctioned religions, other faiths are by definition minority in both numbers and political power. Such societies may develop a hierarchy of religions, with one or more officially sanctioned faiths that have many special privileges relative to taxes and access to the institutional structures of society, through second-tier religious groups with some privileges, to unacceptable religions that are allowed to exist but with no privileges or that are even openly repressed. Many nations have such hierarchies of acceptable and unacceptable religions, as well as governmental ministries that enforce the hierarchies, making sure that minority faiths know their place in society and remain in it. Such arrangements may also include special agreements between the state and the privileged religion, as is the case in many Catholic countries, or even constitutional protections for the favored faith.

Pluralistic Societies

If there are many minority faiths in a society, and if the dominant faith is relatively weak in political power and numbers, then that society is more pluralistic in nature, and religious groups may share access to the public arena. If the pluralism is normatively and legally sanctioned, as in nations such as Australia or the United States, then the term minority religion does not necessarily or usually carry a significant stigma. However, if a minority faith is perceived to hold beliefs and practices that vary greatly from those of the general society, or if it is viewed as a political threat, it may be stigmatized and even repressed by actions of the institutional and political structures of the society, including even the dominant religious institutions.

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