Replication data for: ISLAM’S BLOODY INNARDS?

Culturalists claim that political outcomes, such as respect for human rights, are deeply rooted in culture. Some have singled out Islam as particularly problematic. We assess whether Muslim societies suffer higher levels of political terror compared to others. Our results show that countries containing larger shares of Catholics, and those dominated by Catholics, fare the worst. The share of the population Muslim and Membership in the Organization of the Islamic Conference predicts lower levels of political terror. Claims about the uniqueness of Islam for accounting for political repression seem to be exaggerated. Consistent with the findings on religion and democracy, our results indicate that it is the Arab region, not religion that matters, but Latin America shows the largest impact. Substantively, political and economic factors matter a whole lot more than do the variables on religion. This is good news for policy that seeks to end the scourge of political repression.

文化主义者主张，尊重人权等政治结果深深植根于文化土壤。有观点将伊斯兰教视为格外棘手的问题根源。本研究旨在比对穆斯林社会与其他社会，评估前者是否承受了更高烈度的政治恐怖。研究结果显示，天主教徒占比更高的国家，以及由天主教主导的国家，政治恐怖程度最为严重。而穆斯林人口占比以及该国为伊斯兰会议组织（Organization of the Islamic Conference）成员国的身份，均与更低的政治恐怖程度相关。所谓伊斯兰教是政治镇压独有成因的论调，显然言过其实。结合宗教与民主领域的既有研究结论，本研究结果表明，真正产生影响的是阿拉伯地区而非宗教本身，但拉丁美洲的影响幅度最为显著。从实质层面来看，政治与经济因素对政治恐怖程度的影响远胜于宗教相关变量。这对于旨在终结政治镇压这一祸患的政策而言，无疑是利好消息。