In which countries is Catholicism still a driver of policy?
Re:Islam and science: The road to renewal
by jacquesm on Monday January 28, 2013 @04:03AM
(#5127749)
Malta, Honduras, Venezuela, The Phillipines, Dominican Republic, San Marino, East Timor, Andorra, Italy, Poland, Paraguay, Ireland and probably (lots of) others besides.
You can basically take the percentage of the religious population in all countries and sort by that, the exceptions will be the ones that have a > 80% catholic population where it does not have a dominant influence on politics. I'm not too current on Spain and Portugal but those would be good candidates (Spain > 90%, Portugal > 80%).
The good news is that in lots of places the church is still powerful but that its influence is waning. The bad news is that it is still pretty high.
Ireland and the Philippines both stand out in recent events. Thankfully the influence of the RCC has been slipping in both in recent years.
Poland as well.
Re:Islam and science: The road to renewal
by richardjordan on Sunday January 27, 2013 @11:40PM
(#5127167)
There exists a matter of degree. Praying for guidance is something I'd prefer my president or prime minister not do. However it's a far cry from persecuting and in some places executing those who put forward theories critical of literal interpretations of Islam.
Catholicism is the driver of policy in a number of nations today, and there is no obvious movement by these nations towards tolerance of science where it conflicts with rigid Catholic dogma. Even a United States president and a UK prime minister have admitted publicly that they prayed together for guidance.
As long as politics and religion are intermingled this will likely continue.