Comparative Cross-National Study of Religious Fundamentalism, Developmental Idealism, Values, and Morality in the Middle East and North Africa

Investigators: Mansoor Moaddel, PI, Arland Thornton, Co-PI, Stuart Karabenick, Consultant, Linda Young-DeMarco, Project Manager, Zeina Mneimneh, Project Manager, Julie de Jong, Research Associate.

The questionnaire used in this project consists of over 250 items and covers the following topics:

1. Religious Fundamentalism—attitudinal measures of religious fundamentalism are constructed and extensively tested, which are applicable to both Christian and Muslim (Shia and Sunni) fundamentalism, are available for the entire eight countries.
2. Cultural Values—measures of attitudes toward gender relations, form of government, secular politics, morality, religiosity, national identity and pride, and other values are included for the entire eight countries.
3. Sources of News Information—measures of the sources of information that the respondents rely on, including radio, TV, newspapers, the Internet, mobile phone, and so forth are available for the entire eight countries.
4. Developmental Idealism—measures of the type of change respondents’ associate with Westernization and the type of change they associate with development are available for only the five surveys carried out in 2011: Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia. For more information on developmental idealism project, see https://developmentalidealism.org/.
5. Political Engagement—measures of political engagement are available for Jordan, Tunisia, and Turkey. For other countries, there are a few questions on this topic.
6. Attitudes toward Violence—several items measuring attitudes toward political violence and suicide terrorism against Americans, Europeans, and people from the respondents’ country included in the eight-country survey.
7. Demographics—Data on gender, age, marital status, area of residence, ethnicity, income, education, employment status and occupation, and self-described social class are available for all the countries.

The questionnaire used for data collection in Turkey in 2013 includes a majority of the questions used in the data collection in the other countries. The data from Turkey is included in the Final Data Collection Dataset. The English and Turkish questionnaires are published as separate, Turkey-specific files on this site.

The questionnaire used for data collection in Tunisia in 2013 includes only a portion of the questions used in the data collection in the other countries. However, the data from Tunisia is included in the Final Data Collection Dataset. The English and Arabic questionnaires are published as separate, Tunisia-specific files on this site.

The questionnaire used for data collection in Jordan in 2016 includes only a portion of the questions used in the data collection in the other countries. For that reason, the data from Jordan is not included in the Final Data Collection Dataset, but rather, as a standalone file. The English and Arabic questionnaires are likewise published as separate, Jordan-specific files on this site.

Coverage: Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Tunisia.

Sponsor: Eastern Michigan University, University of Michigan, Office of Naval Research, MITRE, Jack Shank Research Award through the Sociology of Religion Section of the American Sociological Association, Max Planck Institute, University of Maryland Center for Advanced Study of Language.

Links
The Birthplace of the Arab Spring: Values and Perceptions of the Tunisian Public in a Comparative Perspective
Tunisia: An Oasis of Peace and Tolerance