Religious Minority-Majority Relations

Global Level

On a global scale, Christianity is the largest of the world's religions, followed by Islam. The total numerical size of a religion—the number of its followers worldwide—is not, however, a particularly salient measure of majority or minority status [Page 1081]because none of the “world religions” operates as a unified whole. Internal divisions within religions militate against such mobilization and, historically, are often as important as those between different religions. For example, divisions within Protestant Christianity, let alone between Protestants, Catholics, and Orthodox Christians, are as socially and politically significant as those between Christians and Muslims or Christians and Hindus. This point is often obscured in talk about clashes of “civilizations.”

In practice, the power of a religion depends not only on its size but also on its relations with other forms of social power, including political and military power and economic power. For example, a religion that has official support from a polity may function as a majority religion even if other religions in the same political territory have more followers in aggregate. When a religion has such a status, however, it will often win over a majority of adherents as well. Majority religions in this sense often exist at supranational scales (and it is important to remember that the nation-state is in any case largely a modern phenomenon). Such majority religions are often tied up with political formations that have extensive and expansive territorial control, as in the case of many historic empires. For example, Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire, and Islam was integral to a number of empires.

By their very nature, imperial religions “create” minority religions. They may treat the latter in various ways—ranging from toleration to harsh repression—but not as having equal status. Secular empires (e.g., the USSR) have also been repressive of religion in many instances. Minority religions enshrine views, identities, values, and priorities that differ from the majority and may serve as seedbeds of social and political resistance and change. Global alliances between minorities that share a common religious commitment may greatly enhance their power and the opportunities of their members.

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