n 2021, the United States saw the sharpest decline of any country on the Fragile State Index, the annual review published by Fund for Peace. Despite a strong economy and advanced health system, polarization and misinformation contributed to political violence and a disjointed COVID-19 response that left over a quarter of a million people dead by the end of the year in the U.S. alone.
Was this shocking? Perhaps. But perhaps we are witness to a global phenomenon, not exclusive to American culture, that directly correlates to two freedoms that are at risk around the world: freedom of the press and freedom of religion.
Global citizens have more access to information than ever before. Almost anyone in the world can connect with and learn from one another. Yet, nationally, regionally, and even locally communities are polarized and divided. This phenomenon is not just happening in countries experiencing oppressive regimes or active conflict. Freedom House notes that populations are clustering by group-based identities in countries classified as both "free" and "not free." In essence, the United States is not alone in confronting these challenges.
How do we combat this polarization? A prerequisite to a resilient society is a public square that creates a space for constructive collective engagement. The public square enables people from different cultures, demographics, values, and belief systems to engage, connect, and ultimately, act on common challenges. The media—including social media, print journalism, and broadcast media—believes themselves a key arbiter of this square, but where ethnicity and religion is concerned, their effectiveness is increasingly limited.
Religion, broadly defined here as core values and belief systems, lies at the crux of social identity and is a key tool utilized by the connectors and dividers in an increasingly polarized environment. With 80% of the world’s population identifying with a religion, faith communities represent a powerful champion for transformation and change. Faith groups, both historically and today, play major roles in shifting social norms, catalyzing social action, and providing relief services in ways that encompass groups beyond their own followers. The World Economic Forum recognizes the relevance of religion and faith to the global economy, politics, society, and individuals, as well as the role played by faith communities in advancing society in an inclusive and sustainable way. Faith and religious identity may be regarded as drivers of community cohesion and therefore resilience, but when paired with a breakdown of the public square, can also be a driver of fragility.
Through analysis of major indices, including the Fragile States Index, and an in-depth review of three increasingly polarized countries—Brazil, India, and Ethiopia—we investigated the intersection of media and religion and their impact on country-level resilience.
Brazil is the most ethnically diverse country in South America. Despite just under 65% identifying as Roman Catholic, Protestants, and Spiritists also make up a notable portion of society. In addition, the legacy of Brazil’s history of forced conversion of Indigenous groups to Christianity, along with colonialism and racism, continue to ripple through Brazilian society. President Bolsonaro’s election in 2019 coincided with a decline in both freedoms of religion and the press, and both continue to decline today. These two factors have a major impact on the ability of the media to report on issues of cultural and political importance—something especially notable as the state continues to influence the media.
Similarly diverse, India’s population encompasses most of the world’s Hindus, Jains, and Sikhs, along with one of the largest Muslim populations across the globe. Millions of Christians and Buddhists also call India home. Indians have created a series of separate communities, like a patchwork quilt, that comes together at each edge but does not overlap. The quilt pieces remain insular, which is replicated in online echo chambers. In a unique use of ‘hate spin’, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has used defamation, sedition, and hate speech laws to discourage, threaten, and silence those critical of the BJP Hindu nationalist narrative. Decentralized Hindu nationalist campaigns violently discourage forms of expression deemed “anti-national,” which has exacerbated self-censorship in the media. Outside of direct manipulation, Indian media is heavily reliant on advertising revenues, and the government is a major advertiser. Combined with the trauma of the post-colonial partition that led to cultural segregation, the decrease in press freedom exacerbates intolerance, hate speech, violence, and anti-Hindu or anti-Muslim legislation respectively, as well as violence against other religious minorities.
This kind of violence is also growing in Ethiopia, where the population is more evenly divided among Ethiopian Orthodox, Christian Protestant, and Muslim. Here, a resurgence of state tactics to limit free press, including imprisoning journalists, cutting access to the internet, and politically-motivated laws targeting hate speech, are both a response and contributor to identity-based conflicts. The main radio and television news are owned and operated by the government, which allows them to dictate the content on those channels. While mobile phone access is increasing, the government’s reliance on state-run channels means it is falling behind the much quicker spread of hate speech on social media. Instead of integrating social media into their communications strategy, the government has blocked many social media sites, and sometimes cuts off the internet altogether in an ineffective effort to stem escalation of intercommunal tensions.
Such tensions are already running high and frequently exacerbated by disinformation online. For example, in February of 2019, fake reports appeared online of attacks on mosques in Durame. These led to the destruction of ten churches in Southern Ethiopia. The next day, two mosques were attacked in Amhara and a third mosque was burnt a few days later. Tit-for-tat style violence relies heavily on social media encouraging religious brethren to take revenge. The volume of one-sided and incomplete news sources, both from government-owned media sources and from those who claim to tell the story the government will not, makes it very difficult for both those in Ethiopia and the influential diaspora community to get a complete picture of an event and bring attention to solutions.
These three case studies: Brazil, India, and Ethiopia, share similarities in their challenges, but they also present a common set of solutions to build resilience. The protection of minority populations from hate speech and the violence that follows is crucial to long-term, country-level resilience. This can include activities from increasing human and AI monitoring of online hate speech and disinformation to training respected religious and tradition leaders on de-escalation processes. Media literacy initiatives can also serve as an opportunity to promote religious tolerance and build social cohesion. Investing in initiatives that encourage local reporting are key to decreasing incorrect or sensationalized reporting that foments discord. In addition, localized media and monitoring can reduce the use of dehumanizing and violence-inciting hate speech that may be coded and unrecognizable to global- or even country-level hate speech monitors.
The issue of building resilience extends far beyond the relationship between media and faith. But the media and communities of faith, as pillars of society, impact and are impacted by declining freedoms in unique ways that contribute to an erosion of social cohesion. The United States finds itself struggling with many of these same issues, including the ability to shape political narratives, the connection between religious identity and hate speech (whether perceived or true), and the limited exposure to diverse faith traditions by the media. By exploring the real-time implications of threats to freedoms of religion and the press globally, we can identify spaces to invest in, strengthen, and support resilience worldwide.
Editors’ Note: The research referred to in this piece was published on June 30 by FFP in the form of a white paper. You can access and download it free here. This piece includes reporting by Fund for Peace Program Director Emily Sample.
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State Fragility: Where Declining Press and Religion Freedoms Collide
Photo via Adobe Stock.
July 5, 2022
In 2021, the U.S. was the biggest faller on Fund for Peace’s (FFP) annual Fragile State Index. Declining press and religious freedom appear to be the culprits and while the U.S. was an extreme case, the phenomenon is global, writes FFP Executive Director Paul Turner.
I
n 2021, the United States saw the sharpest decline of any country on the Fragile State Index, the annual review published by Fund for Peace. Despite a strong economy and advanced health system, polarization and misinformation contributed to political violence and a disjointed COVID-19 response that left over a quarter of a million people dead by the end of the year in the U.S. alone.
Was this shocking? Perhaps. But perhaps we are witness to a global phenomenon, not exclusive to American culture, that directly correlates to two freedoms that are at risk around the world: freedom of the press and freedom of religion.
Global citizens have more access to information than ever before. Almost anyone in the world can connect with and learn from one another. Yet, nationally, regionally, and even locally communities are polarized and divided. This phenomenon is not just happening in countries experiencing oppressive regimes or active conflict. Freedom House notes that populations are clustering by group-based identities in countries classified as both "free" and "not free." In essence, the United States is not alone in confronting these challenges.
How do we combat this polarization? A prerequisite to a resilient society is a public square that creates a space for constructive collective engagement. The public square enables people from different cultures, demographics, values, and belief systems to engage, connect, and ultimately, act on common challenges. The media—including social media, print journalism, and broadcast media—believes themselves a key arbiter of this square, but where ethnicity and religion is concerned, their effectiveness is increasingly limited.
Religion, broadly defined here as core values and belief systems, lies at the crux of social identity and is a key tool utilized by the connectors and dividers in an increasingly polarized environment. With 80% of the world’s population identifying with a religion, faith communities represent a powerful champion for transformation and change. Faith groups, both historically and today, play major roles in shifting social norms, catalyzing social action, and providing relief services in ways that encompass groups beyond their own followers. The World Economic Forum recognizes the relevance of religion and faith to the global economy, politics, society, and individuals, as well as the role played by faith communities in advancing society in an inclusive and sustainable way. Faith and religious identity may be regarded as drivers of community cohesion and therefore resilience, but when paired with a breakdown of the public square, can also be a driver of fragility.
Through analysis of major indices, including the Fragile States Index, and an in-depth review of three increasingly polarized countries—Brazil, India, and Ethiopia—we investigated the intersection of media and religion and their impact on country-level resilience.
Brazil is the most ethnically diverse country in South America. Despite just under 65% identifying as Roman Catholic, Protestants, and Spiritists also make up a notable portion of society. In addition, the legacy of Brazil’s history of forced conversion of Indigenous groups to Christianity, along with colonialism and racism, continue to ripple through Brazilian society. President Bolsonaro’s election in 2019 coincided with a decline in both freedoms of religion and the press, and both continue to decline today. These two factors have a major impact on the ability of the media to report on issues of cultural and political importance—something especially notable as the state continues to influence the media.
Similarly diverse, India’s population encompasses most of the world’s Hindus, Jains, and Sikhs, along with one of the largest Muslim populations across the globe. Millions of Christians and Buddhists also call India home. Indians have created a series of separate communities, like a patchwork quilt, that comes together at each edge but does not overlap. The quilt pieces remain insular, which is replicated in online echo chambers. In a unique use of ‘hate spin’, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has used defamation, sedition, and hate speech laws to discourage, threaten, and silence those critical of the BJP Hindu nationalist narrative. Decentralized Hindu nationalist campaigns violently discourage forms of expression deemed “anti-national,” which has exacerbated self-censorship in the media. Outside of direct manipulation, Indian media is heavily reliant on advertising revenues, and the government is a major advertiser. Combined with the trauma of the post-colonial partition that led to cultural segregation, the decrease in press freedom exacerbates intolerance, hate speech, violence, and anti-Hindu or anti-Muslim legislation respectively, as well as violence against other religious minorities.
This kind of violence is also growing in Ethiopia, where the population is more evenly divided among Ethiopian Orthodox, Christian Protestant, and Muslim. Here, a resurgence of state tactics to limit free press, including imprisoning journalists, cutting access to the internet, and politically-motivated laws targeting hate speech, are both a response and contributor to identity-based conflicts. The main radio and television news are owned and operated by the government, which allows them to dictate the content on those channels. While mobile phone access is increasing, the government’s reliance on state-run channels means it is falling behind the much quicker spread of hate speech on social media. Instead of integrating social media into their communications strategy, the government has blocked many social media sites, and sometimes cuts off the internet altogether in an ineffective effort to stem escalation of intercommunal tensions.
Such tensions are already running high and frequently exacerbated by disinformation online. For example, in February of 2019, fake reports appeared online of attacks on mosques in Durame. These led to the destruction of ten churches in Southern Ethiopia. The next day, two mosques were attacked in Amhara and a third mosque was burnt a few days later. Tit-for-tat style violence relies heavily on social media encouraging religious brethren to take revenge. The volume of one-sided and incomplete news sources, both from government-owned media sources and from those who claim to tell the story the government will not, makes it very difficult for both those in Ethiopia and the influential diaspora community to get a complete picture of an event and bring attention to solutions.
These three case studies: Brazil, India, and Ethiopia, share similarities in their challenges, but they also present a common set of solutions to build resilience. The protection of minority populations from hate speech and the violence that follows is crucial to long-term, country-level resilience. This can include activities from increasing human and AI monitoring of online hate speech and disinformation to training respected religious and tradition leaders on de-escalation processes. Media literacy initiatives can also serve as an opportunity to promote religious tolerance and build social cohesion. Investing in initiatives that encourage local reporting are key to decreasing incorrect or sensationalized reporting that foments discord. In addition, localized media and monitoring can reduce the use of dehumanizing and violence-inciting hate speech that may be coded and unrecognizable to global- or even country-level hate speech monitors.
The issue of building resilience extends far beyond the relationship between media and faith. But the media and communities of faith, as pillars of society, impact and are impacted by declining freedoms in unique ways that contribute to an erosion of social cohesion. The United States finds itself struggling with many of these same issues, including the ability to shape political narratives, the connection between religious identity and hate speech (whether perceived or true), and the limited exposure to diverse faith traditions by the media. By exploring the real-time implications of threats to freedoms of religion and the press globally, we can identify spaces to invest in, strengthen, and support resilience worldwide.
Editors’ Note: The research referred to in this piece was published on June 30 by FFP in the form of a white paper. You can access and download it free here. This piece includes reporting by Fund for Peace Program Director Emily Sample.
