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Included Nations/Regions: Israel [x], Western Asia [x], The World [x]


Religion and State (RAS) Indexes1

Religion Indexes (Israel)

State Funding of Religion
Summary categories: None (0/3), Low (1/3), Medium (2/3), High (3/3)

Ranking: 6/253
Societal Discrimination of Minority Religions
Summary categories: None (0/3), Low (1/3), Medium (2/3), High (3/3)

Ranking: 17/253
State Regulation of Majority or All Religions
Summary categories: None (0/3), Low (1/3), Medium (2/3), High (3/3)

Ranking: 56/253
State Discrimination of Minority Religions
Summary categories: None (0/3), Low (1/3), Medium (2/3), High (3/3)

Ranking: 96/253
For details on how these indexes were constructed, click here

Israel: Major World Religions (1900 - 2050) (World Religion Database, 2020)2

The following groups with less than 1% of the population were hidden from this graph: Baha'is, Buddhists, Chinese folk-religionists, Hindus, New religionists.


Israel: Largest Religious Groups (1900 - 2050) (World Religion Database, 2020)2

The following groups with less than 1% of the population were hidden from this graph: Atheists, doubly-affiliated, Independents, Islamic schismatics, Mahayanists, Orthodox, Protestants, Saktists, Shaivites, Shias, Theravadins, unaffiliated Christians, Vaishnavites.


Religious Adherents (World Religion Database 2020)2

Religion Israel
[x]
Western Asia
[x]
The World
[x]
Baha'is 0.16% 0.06% 0.11%
Buddhists 0.47% 0.23% 6.83%
--Mahayanists 0.08% 0.06% 4.89%
--Theravadins 0.39% 0.16% 1.72%
--Lamaists --- 0.00% 0.23%
Chinese folk-religionists 0.12% 0.02% 5.98%
Christians 2.17% 5.58% 32.16%
--unaffiliated Christians 0.07% 0.05% 1.46%
--Orthodox 0.46% 2.94% 3.75%
--Catholics 1.27% 2.39% 15.90%
--Protestants 0.14% 0.13% 7.51%
--Independents 0.37% 0.15% 5.00%
Daoists --- --- 0.11%
Confucianists --- --- 0.11%
Ethnic religionists --- 0.03% 3.65%
Hindus 0.01% 0.78% 13.58%
--Vaishnavites 0.00% 0.27% 5.15%
--Shaivites 0.00% 0.29% 4.86%
--Saktists 0.00% 0.21% 3.57%
Jains --- 0.00% 0.08%
Jews 71.80% 2.47% 0.19%
Muslims 20.18% 89.15% 24.20%
--Sunnis 19.66% 62.22% 21.56%
--Shias 0.08% 25.50% 2.44%
--Islamic schismatics 0.44% 1.43% 0.21%
New religionists 0.03% 0.28% 0.85%
Shintoists --- --- 0.04%
Sikhs --- 0.08% 0.34%
Spiritists --- --- 0.19%
Zoroastrians --- 0.00% 0.00%
Non-Religious 5.07% 1.32% 11.57%
--Agnostics 4.56% 1.18% 9.65%
--Atheists 0.52% 0.14% 1.92%

Religious demographics (Israel)3

Based on its pre-1967 borders, the country has an area of 7,685 square miles and a population of 7.3 million, of which 5.5 million are Jewish, 1.5 million are Arabs, and 320,000 are classified as "other"--mostly persons from the former Soviet Union who immigrated under the Law of Return but who did not qualify as Jews according to the Orthodox Jewish definition or the definition used by the Government for civil procedures. According to figures from the Central Bureau of Statistics for 2005, the latest year such information was available, 7 percent of the Jewish population are Haredi, 10 percent are Orthodox, 38 percent describe themselves as "traditionally observant" or "traditional," and 45 percent describe themselves as "secular" Jews, most of whom observed some Jewish traditions. A growing but still small number of traditional and secular Jews associate themselves with the Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist streams of Judaism, which are not officially recognized for purposes of civil and personal status matters involving their adherents. Although the Government does not officially recognize them, these streams of Judaism received a small amount of government funding and were recognized by the courts. There is a small but growing community of approximately 10,000 Messianic Jews.

Slightly more than 20 percent of the population is non-Jewish, the vast majority of whom are ethnic Arabs. Of the non-Jewish population, Muslims constitute 16.5 percent, Christians 2.1 percent; Druze 1.7 percent; other religious groups 0.5 percent, including relatively small communities of, among others, Messianic Jews, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Baha'is.

The Government reported that during 2007 it issued 88,500 permits for foreigners to work in the country, and estimated that another 84,000 illegal foreign workers reside in the country. Most foreign workers are Protestant, Roman Catholic, Orthodox Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, or Muslim.

Summary Information

Israel
[x]
Western Asia
[x]
The World
[x]
Region Western Asia The World --
Total Population4 8,064,547 262,021,707 7,335,774,068
Area in square miles 8,522 1,865,418 196,939,900
Life Expectancy from birth, in years5 82.1 74.9 71.9
Gross National Income per capita, in current international dollars5 37,400.0 23,220.8 16,101.0
Description of Polity Score6 (weakly democratic) -- --
Judicial Independence Composite Score, as average of scores for higher and lower courts7 -0.9 -- 0.8
Official Religion(s)8 Judaism -- --

Israel - Google Map


Religion and the State

Religion and State Collection (2014)

Israel
[x]
Is proselytizing Legal?1 Yes
Is religious registration someties denied?1 There is no registration requirement
What are the consequences of registration?1 Groups need not register but registration is allowed or encouraged. This encouragement may include benefits given only to registered religions.
Official Support: The formal relationship between religion and state.1 Active State Religion
The extent to which religious education is mandatory in public schools.1 Optional, or there is a choice between a religion and a non-religion course on topics like ethics, philosophy, or religions of the world.
The extent to which funding is exclusive to one or a few religions.1 Government funding of religion goes primarily to one religion but at least some other religions receive some funds.
The extent to which there are religious requirements and oaths for holding office.1 There are no religious requirements or oaths necessary in order to hold office.

Constitutional Features [ View Excerpts]

Features of Constitution

Israel
[x]
Is there a constitution?9 Yes
Does the constitution state an official religion?10 yes [ Basic laws regularly contains references to the “Jewish State” ]
Does the constitution provide for freedom of religion?10 no, but law functions in its place
Does the constitution protect religious equality/non-discrimination?10 no, but law functions in its place

Constitution

Israel
[x]
Constitution Year10 1958
Last Amended10 2018
Source10 Constitute Project
Translation10 Source is an English translation.
Current as of10 September 19, 2018

Public Opinion (Israel)

(Calculated by the ARDA from the World Values Survey)11
2001
Religious Affiliation/Identification
Percent belonging to a religious denomination. 100
Attitudes
Percent considering religion important. 8.7

Socio-Economic Measures

Military Measures

Israel
[x]
Western Asia
[x]
The World
[x]
Composite Index of National Capability, in fraction of 118 0.0042498 0.003493871 0.005162584
2012 Military expenditure (% of GDP)5 5.9 4.1 --

Other Measures on Religion, State, and Society


Constitution Clauses Related to Religion


Constitution Excerpts (clauses that reference religion) (Israel)10

Basic Law, Knesset (1958)

Article 7. Who shall not be a candidate.

The following shall not be candidates for the Knesset:

...

(2) the two Chief Rabbis;

...

(4) a judge (dayan) of a religious court;

...

(7) rabbis and ministers of other religions, while holding paid office;

Article 7A. Prevention of participation of candidates’ list.

(a) A candidates’ list shall not participate in elections to the Knesset, and a person shall not be a candidate for election to the Knesset, if the objects or actions of the list or the actions of the person, expressly or by implication, include one of the following:

(1) negation of the existence of the State of Israel as a Jewish ... state;

...

Article 12. Convening of the Knesset.

[Alternative date of first meeting after election] due to the intermediate days of certain Jewish festivals.

Article 21. Committees.

...

(b) The Rules may prescribe provisions concerning the committees’ authority to summon an office holder or a functionary of the ... religious council ... and to oblige him to provide information on the activity of the body in which he serves ...

...

Basic Law, Jerusalem, Capital of Israel (1980)

Article 3. Protection of Holy Places.

The Holy Places shall be protected from desecration and any other violation and from anything likely to violate the freedom of access of the members of the different religions to the places sacred to them or their feelings towards those places.

Basic Law, The Judiciary (1984)

Article 1. Judicial power.

...

(b) Judicial power is vested also in the following:

(1) a religious court (beit din);

...

...

Article 15. The Supreme Court.

...

(d) Without prejudice to the generality of the provisions of subsection

(c), the Supreme Court sitting as a High Court of Justice shall be competent---

...

(3) to order courts ... other than religious courts (batei din), to hear, refrain from hearing, or continue hearing a particular matter or to void a proceeding improperly taken or a decision improperly given;

(4) to order religious courts (batei din) to hear a particular matter within their jurisdiction or to refrain from hearing or continue hearing a particular matter not within their jurisdiction, provided that the court shall not entertain an application under this paragraph if the applicant did not raise the question of jurisdiction at the earliest opportunity; and if he had no reasonable opportunity to raise the question of jurisdiction until a decision had been given by a religious court (beit din), the court may quash a proceeding taken or a decision given by the religious court (beit din) without authority.

...

Basic Law, Human Dignity and Liberty (1992)

Article 1A. Purpose.

The purpose of this Basic Law is to protect human dignity and liberty, in order to establish in a Basic Law the values of the State of Israel as a Jewish ... state.

Basic Law, Freedom of Occupation (1994)

Article 2. Purpose.

The purpose of this Basic Law is to protect freedom of occupation, in order to establish in a Basic Law the values of the State of Israel as a Jewish ... state.

Provisional Government of Israel, The Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel (1948)

(https://www.knesset.gov.il/docs/eng/megilat_eng.htm)

... The State of Israel ... will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion ...; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, ...

Variable Details

  • For more details on State Funding of Religion (FUN_4CAT) see this document.
  • For more details on Societal Discrimination of Minority Religions (SOC_4CAT) see this document.
  • For more details on State Regulation of Majority or All Religions (NXX_4CAT) see this document.
  • For more details on State Discrimination of Minority Religions (MXX_4CAT) see this document.
  • Sources

    1 The Religion and State (RAS) Project is a university-based project located at Bar Ilan University in Ramat Gan, Israel and is directed by Jonathan Fox. Round 3 of the RAS includes all countries with populations of 250,000 or more as well as a sampling of smaller states and offers annual measures from 1990 to 2014. The methods used for conducting the RAS3 collection and the complete codebook can be reviewed online. Or, the codebook and data file can be downloaded free of charge here. For details on how the RAS indexes reported on the ARDA’s National Profiles were coded, constructed, and placed into categories, click here.

    2 Todd M. Johnson and Brian J. Grim, eds. World Religion Database (Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2022).

    3 The U.S. State Department's International Religious Freedom Report is submitted to Congress annually by the Department of State in compliance with Section 102(b) of the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) of 1998. This report supplements the most recent Human Rights Reports by providing additional detailed information with respect to matters involving international religious freedom. It includes individual country chapters on the status of religious freedom worldwide. A dataset with these and the other international measures highlighted on the country pages can be downloaded from this website. These State Department reports are open source.

    4 The Religious Characteristics of States Dataset Project: Demographics reports the estimates of religious demographics, both country by country and region by region. The RCS was created to fulfill the unmet need for a dataset on the religious dimensions of countries of the world, with the state-year as the unit of observation. It estimates populations and percentages of adherents of 100 religious denominations including second level subdivision within Christianity and Islam. The RCS Data Project would like to acknowledge, recognize, and express our deepest gratitude for the significant contributions of Todd M. Johnson the co-principal investigator of the World Religion Database.

    5 Relying on agencies from each country, as well as a synthesis of data from United Nations divisions, Eurostate Demographic statistics, the U.S. Census international database, and its own data collection, the World Bank's Open Data site offers free and open access to data about development in countries around the globe.

    6 The Center for Systemic Peace (CSP) is engaged in innovative research on the problem of political violence within the structural context of the dynamic global system. The Center supports scientific research and quantitative analysis in many issue areas related to the fundamental problems of violence in both human relations and societal-systemic development processes. The Center continually monitors political behavior in each of the world's major states and reports on emerging issues and persisting conditions related to the problems of political violence and "state failure." A dataset with these and other international measures can be downloaded from here. Used with permission. *Note: Polity Scores range from -10 to 10 and include the following categories: -10 to -9: strongly autocratic, -8 to -7 autocratic, -6 to -4 weakly autocratic, -3 to +3 anocratic, +4 to +6 weakly democratic, +7 to +8 democratic, +9 to +10 strongly democratic.

    7 Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) is a new approach to conceptualizing and measuring democracy. V-Dem provides a multidimensional and disaggregated dataset that reflects the complexity of the concept of democracy as a system of rule that goes beyond simple presence of elections. The V-Dem project distinguishes between seven high-level principles of democracy: electoral, liberal, participatory, deliberative, egalitarian, majoritarian, and consensual, and collects data to measure these principles. A dataset with these and other international measures can be downloaded from here. Used with permission.

    8 The Religious Characteristics of States Dataset Project: Government Religious Preference (GRP) measures government-level favoritism toward, and disfavor against, 30 religious denominations. A series of ordered categorical variables index the state's institutional favoritism in 28 different ways. The variables are combined to form five composite indices for five broad components of state-religion: official status, religious education, financial support, regulatory burdens, and freedom of practice. The five components' composites in turn are further combined into a single composite score, the GRP score. The RCS Data Project would like to acknowledge, recognize, and express our deepest gratitude for the significant contributions of Todd M. Johnson, the principal investigator of the World Christian Database, the co-principal investigator of the World Religion Database, and co-author of the World Christian Encyclopedia series.

    9 Data under the "Features of Constitution" heading are drawn from coding of the U.S. State Department's 2008 International Religious Freedom Reports conducted by researchers at the Association of Religion Data Archives. The article by Brian Grim and Roger Finke describes the coding of the International Religious Freedom reports. A dataset with these and the other international measures highlighted on the country pages can be downloaded from this website. Used with permission.

    10 Text from country constitutions was copied from primary documents obtained online using a variety of sources, including the Constitute Project, World Constitutions Illustrated, and government sources. When the text was in a language other than English, it was translated to English by ARDA staff or with web-based translation utilities such as Google Translate. Emphases were added to the text by ARDA staff to differentiate religious content from non-religious content. Text is current to the date listed in the "Current as of" field shown above. Please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you are aware of any incorrect information provided on this page.

    11 The World Values Survey is a worldwide investigation of socio-cultural and political change. It is conducted by a network of social scientists at leading universities around the world. Interviews have been carried out with nationally representative samples of the publics of more than 80 societies. A total of four waves have been carried out since 1981. The ARDA has averaged the weighted responses across the waves for each country surveyed. The average responses for all countries have been placed in a single file and can be previewed and downloaded here. See the World Values Survey website for further information and to download the original survey data: http://www.worldvaluessurvey.org/.

    12 Freedom House is an independent non-governmental organization that offers measures of the extent to which governments are accountable to their own people; the rule of law prevails; and freedoms of expression, association, belief and respect for the rights of minorities and women are guaranteed. A dataset with these and the other international measures highlighted on the country pages can be downloaded from this website. Used with permission.

    13 The CIA's World Factbook was created as an annual summary and update to the now defunct National Intelligence Survey (NIS) studies. The first classified Factbook was published in August 1962, and the first unclassified version was published in June 1971. The NIS program was terminated in 1973 except for the Factbook, map, and gazetteer components. The 1975 Factbook was the first to be made available to the public with sales through the US Government Printing Office (GPO). The year 2010 marks the 67th year of the World Factbook and its predecessor programs. The maps and flags are also from the World Factbook, which is an open source.

    14 Relying on agencies from each country, as well as a synthesis of data from United Nations divisions, Eurostate Demographic statistics, the U.S. Census international database, and its own data collection, the World Bank's Open Data site offers free and open access to data about development in countries around the globe.

    15 The Heritage Foundation/Wall Street Journal Index of Economic Freedom is a systematic, empirical measurement of economic freedom in countries throughout the world. A set of objective economic criteria are used to study and grade various countries for the annual publication of the Index of Economic Freedom. A dataset with these and the other international measures highlighted on the country pages can be downloaded from this website. Used with permission.

    16 The United Nations Human Development Reports provide data and statistical analysis in various areas of human development. The Human Development Report (HDR) presents two types of statistics: the human development indicator tables, which provide a global assessment of country achievements in different areas of human development, and thematic statistical analysis. A dataset with these and the other international measures highlighted on the country pages can be downloaded from this website. Used with permission.

    17 The 2013 Gender Inequality Index is a composite measure reflecting inequality in achievements between women and men in three dimensions: reproductive health, empowerment and the labor market. It varies between zero (when women and men fare equally) and one (when men or women fare poorly compared to the other in all dimensions). The health dimension is measured by two indicators: maternal mortality ratio and the adolescent fertility rate. The empowerment dimension is also measured by two indicators: the share of parliamentary seats held by each sex and by secondary and higher education attainment levels. The labor dimension is measured by women’s participation in the work force. Source: The United Nations Human Development Reports provide data and statistical analysis in various areas of human development. The Human Development Report (HDR) presents two types of statistics: the human development indicator tables, which provide a global assessment of country achievements in different areas of human development, and thematic statistical analysis. A dataset with these and the other international measures highlighted on the country pages can be downloaded from this website. Used with permission.

    18 Military data is drawn from the National Material Capabilities (v4.0) dataset, which is a component of and hosted by the Correlates of War Project. The Correlates of War Project seeks to facilitate the collection, dissemination, and use of accurate and reliable quantitative data in international relations. Correlates of War data may be accessed through the above link. Used with permission.

    19 The article by Brian Grim and Roger Finke describes the coding of the U.S. State Department's International Religious Freedom reports. The 2003, 2005, and 2008 reports were coded by researchers at the Association of Religion Data Archives. The GRI, GFI and SRI values reported on the National Profiles are averages from the 2003, 2005, and 2008 International Religious Freedom reports, while the Religious Persecution measure is an average from the 2005 and 2008 reports. All other measures derived from the International Religious Freedom reports were coded from the reports 2008. A data file with all of the 2008 coding, as well as data files with other cross national collections are available for preview and download from the data archive on this site. Used with permission.

    20 The Cingranelli-Richards (CIRI) Human Rights Dataset contains standards-based quantitative information on government respect for 15 internationally recognized human rights for 202 countries, annually from 1981-2011. It is designed for use by scholars and students who seek to test theories about the causes and consequences of human rights violations, as well as policy makers and analysts who seek to estimate the human rights effects of a wide variety of institutional changes and public policies including democratization, economic aid, military aid, structural adjustment, and humanitarian intervention. The full CIRI Human Rights Dataset can be accessed through the above link. Used with permission.

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