Should Religious Leaders Reveal Political Leanings or Join Protests? Yes, Say Most Respondents Polled in Malaysia, Indonesia

Channel News Asia ^ | 12 Sep 2023 | Amir Yusof

[nickcarraway]

The survey by the Pew Research Centre involving some 13,000 respondents in six Asian countries also found that about one in two Malaysians and Indonesians believe religious leaders should join politics.

Around 6 in 10 respondents polled in Malaysia and Indonesia say religious leaders should talk publicly about the political parties or politicians they support, with about half even saying they should enter politics, a survey has found.

Also, more than half of the respondents in Malaysia and Indonesia believe religious leaders should take part in political protests, slightly more than the 50 per cent of those polled in Cambodia and eclipsing the 18 to 29 per cent of respondents in Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

These key trends emerge in the Pew Research Centre study released on Tuesday (Sep 12) which surveyed 13,122 adult respondents across six Asian countries between June and September 2022.

The countries are Thailand, Cambodia and Sri Lanka, where Buddhism is the official religion, Malaysia and Indonesia where most of the population are Muslims, as well as Singapore which has no religious majority.

[DIRTYSECRET]

Y those 2? Don’t Moozlems have political opinions? I’m sure they’re in sync with the Koran.

[fieldmarshaldj]

Yes. That way we’ll know if they’re Christian or not.

[Tell It Right]

Y those 2? Don’t Moozlems have political opinions? I’m sure they’re in sync with the Koran.

Depends on the sect. The imams in some Muslim sects tell their followers that they're not allowed to read the Koran for themselves -- they have to get that info from the Imams only.