💾 Archived View for gmi.noulin.net › mobileNews › 1968.gmi captured on 2023-06-16 at 20:30:27. Gemini links have been rewritten to link to archived content
⬅️ Previous capture (2023-01-29)
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
2010-04-15 07:34:13
The Pew Research Center has just released one of the
which has revealed a host of interesting facts.
Download comes from Pew Research Center website.
Most computers will open this document automatically, but you may need Adobe
Reader
Here are 10 things we have learnt from the study, which surveyed 25,000 people
in 19 countries.
1. 75% of South Africans think polygamy is "morally wrong" - bad news for their
president, as
However, the survey also revealed some possible double-standards. While only 7%
of Rwandans approved of polygamy (although this did include women), a rather
higher number - 17% - of men said they had more than one wife.
2. An overwhelming majority of respondents disapproved of homosexual behaviour.
In three countries - Zambia, Kenya and Cameroon - this was a massive 98%.
Interestingly, one of the countries with the highest numbers of people - 11% -
accepting homosexuals is Uganda , where
The former Portuguese colonies of Guinea-Bissau and Mozambique were also
relatively tolerant of homosexuality.
3. Africa is probably the world's most religious continent, with more than 80%
saying they believed in God in most countries. At least half of the Christians
questioned expect Jesus Christ to return to earth during their lifetimes . In
Ethiopia, 74% of Christians say they have experienced or witnessed the devil or
evil spirits being driven out of a person and in Ghana, 40% of Christians say
they have had a direct revelation from God. About half of all Muslims expect to
see the reunification of the Islamic world under a single ruler, or caliph, in
their lifetimes.
4.
was not one of the countries surveyed. But 26% of Nigerian Christians said they
traced their origins back to Israel or Palestine .
5. Belief in witchcraft is also common - about 40%; a similar percentage also
visit traditional healers to cure sickness. Belief in witchcraft is highest in
Tanzania with 93% - this is the country where
Ethiopia had the lowest levels of belief in witchcraft - at just 17%. Belief
that juju or sacred objects can prevent bad things happening was generally
lower - between 20 and 30%. In Senegal, however, 75% thought such things worked
- far higher than in Tanzania (49%). It may come as a surprise to learn that
South Africa had the highest number of people - 52% - saying they took part in
ceremonies of traditional religions, or honoured or celebrated their ancestors.
6. Predictably, there was also a religious split concerning alcohol, banned by
Islam. Surprisingly, however, more Muslims in Chad (23%) approved of booze,
than Ethiopian Christians (5%) .
7. Attitudes to divorce showed a strong divide along religious lines in Nigeria
. A massive 79% of Christians thought it was "morally wrong", while among
Muslims, a narrow majority (46-41%) accepted divorce.
8. In recent years, Islamist hardliners in Somalia and Nigeria have introduced
strict punishment based on Sharia law, such as amputating the hands of thieves
and even
The majority of people disapproved of such Sharia punishments . In Nigeria,
they were backed by about 40% of Muslims and less than 10% of Christians.
However, a majority did approve of whippings and amputations in Senegal and
Mali. In nearby Guinea-Bissau, even 50% of Christians backed them. This was
double the rate among Muslims in Ethiopia (25%) - maybe it feels like a more
realistic prospect to them, as they share a border with Somalia and most Muslim
Ethiopians are ethnic Somalis.
9. The survey also asked about material well-being in the world's poorest
continent. Not so long ago, Cameroon regularly topped surveys of champagne
consumption per head. However, a shocking 71% of Cameroonians surveyed said
there were times in the past year when they did not have enough money to buy
food . In Ethiopia, which is commonly seen as a country struggling to feed
itself, the rate was far lower - at 30% - the lowest of all countries surveyed.
10. Ethiopia did, however, have the lowest numbers of people - 7% - who said
they regularly used the internet . Rwanda's President Paul Kagame is striving
to turn his country into Africa's answer to Silicon Valley and is being helped
by
He will be encouraged by the finding that 30% of his countrymen - the highest
number - regularly browsed the web. Mobile phones, were far more common - with
81% of respondents in Botswana owning one. Many countries reported more than
50% having phones but here, Rwanda lagged behind at just 35%.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/8620249.stm
Published: 2010/04/15 06:58:45 GMT