Measurement Wizard > Multi-Item Measures > Religion, Regulation of > Government Favoritism

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• Government Favoritism

The government favoritism index is a comparative measure of the actions of the state that provide one religion or a small group of religions special privileges, support, or favorable sanctions. A higher GFI score indicates greater religious favoritism. Range: 0 - 10.

Data File: International Religious Freedom Data, Aggregate File (2003-2008)

Source: Grim, Brian J. and Roger Finke. 2006. "International Religion Indexes: Government Regulation, Government Favoritism, and Social Regulation of Religion." Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion 2 (Article 1).

General Instructions: The Government Favoritism of Religion Index (GFI) is calculated by obtaining the sum of all of its variables and multiplying that sum by 2. GFI values have a possible range of 0 to 10. Any special instructions related to individual items will be listed below those items.

GFI_A_AG from International Religious Freedom Data, Aggregate File (2003-2008)

According to the Report, what is the balance of government funding (including in kind such as funding buildings) to the religious sector? (Rescaled to range from 0 to 1.) [Category labels are the following: 0 = No funding. 0.333 = A proportional balance. 0.667 = Has imbalance. 1 = Only goes to one religion or belief.] (GFI_A_AG)

	TOTAL	%
0) 0	33	16.6
0.111) .111	17	8.5
0.222) .222	21	10.6
0.333) .333	14	7.0
0.444) .444	29	14.6
0.556) .556	16	8.0
0.667) .667	39	19.6
0.778) .778	13	6.5
0.889) .889	12	6.0
1) 1	5	2.5
TOTAL	199	100.0

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GFI_B_AG from International Religious Freedom Data, Aggregate File (2003-2008)

According to the Report, to what extent is there a favored (or established) religious brand? (Rescaled to range from 0 to 1.) [Category labels are the following: 0 = None, or all religious brands are treated the same. 0.333 = Cultural or historical legacies only, e.g., former established religious brand inherits buildings or properties. 0.667 = Some religious brands have privileges or government access unavailable to other religious brands. 1 = Either A or B: A) One religious brand has privileges or government access unavailable to other religions; or B) One single state or official (established) religious brand/religion.] (GFI_B_AG)

	TOTAL	%
0) 0	17	8.5
0.111) .111	10	5.0
0.222) .222	21	10.6
0.333) .333	12	6.0
0.444) .444	12	6.0
0.556) .556	10	5.0
0.667) .667	27	13.6
0.778) .778	15	7.5
0.889) .889	11	5.5
1) 1	64	32.2
TOTAL	199	100.0

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GFI_C_AG from International Religious Freedom Data, Aggregate File (2003-2008)

According to the Report, how does the Government subsidize religion, including in kind to organizations run by religions, e.g., hospitals, schools, etc.? (Rescaled to range from 0 to 1.) [Category labels are the following: 0 = No subsidies or equal to all (e.g., all are tax exempt). 0.2 = Subsidies not mentioned, but subsidies are implied by level of government support for a particular religion. 0.4 = Cultural or historical legacies only (e.g., religion inherits cathedrals from previous government spending). 0.6 = Only some religions are excluded from available subsidies. 0.8 = Only an approved set of religions receive government subsidies. 1 = Only one religion is subsidized, including in kind subsidies.] (GFI_C_AG)

	TOTAL	%
0) 0	27	13.6
0.067) .067	3	1.5
0.133) .133	16	8.0
0.2) .2	10	5.0
0.267) .267	12	6.0
0.333) .333	6	3.0
0.4) .4	9	4.5
0.467) .467	7	3.5
0.533) .533	16	8.0
0.6) .6	16	8.0
0.667) .667	10	5.0
0.7) .7	1	0.5
0.733) .733	16	8.0
0.8) .8	19	9.5
0.867) .867	13	6.5
0.933) .933	9	4.5
1) 1	9	4.5
TOTAL	199	100.0

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GFI_D_AG from International Religious Freedom Data, Aggregate File (2003-2008)

According to the Report, does the Government fund some things related to religion? (Rescaled to range from 0 to 1.) [Category labels are the following: 0 = No. 0.5 = Either A or B: A) The Report does not mention funding, but it gives support that probably includes funding; or B) Yes, but equal funding for each religion. 1 = Yes, but funding is not equal for all.] (GFI_D_AG)

	TOTAL	%
0) 0	28	14.1
0.167) .167	20	10.1
0.333) .333	17	8.5
0.5) .5	15	7.5
0.667) .667	26	13.1
0.75) .75	1	0.5
0.833) .833	27	13.6
1) 1	65	32.7
TOTAL	199	100.0

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GFI_E_AG from International Religious Freedom Data, Aggregate File (2003-2008)

Sum of the following variables: SCHOOLAG + BLDGSAG + SALARYAG + MEDIAAG + CHARITAG + ACTIVAG (Rescaled to range from 0 to 1.) [Note: All six constituent variables have a maximum possible value of 2, so GFI_E_AG was calculated by dividing the sum of these variables by 12.] (GFI_E_AG)

	TOTAL	%
0) 0	37	18.6
0.028) .028	13	6.5
0.042) .042	1	0.5
0.056) .056	11	5.5
0.083) .083	18	9.0
0.111) .111	17	8.5
0.139) .139	5	2.5
0.167) .167	8	4.0
0.194) .194	7	3.5
0.222) .222	8	4.0
0.25) .25	8	4.0
0.278) .278	11	5.5
0.306) .306	7	3.5
0.333) .333	8	4.0
0.361) .361	2	1.0
0.389) .389	3	1.5
0.417) .417	7	3.5
0.444) .444	6	3.0
0.472) .472	3	1.5
0.5) .5	3	1.5
0.528) .528	4	2.0
0.556) .556	3	1.5
0.583) .583	2	1.0
0.611) .611	3	1.5
0.639) .639	2	1.0
0.694) .694	2	1.0
TOTAL	199	100.0

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